Forget Me Not
by Sargaetorian
Summary: It's something from out of a fairytale. The princess meeting her one true love, who is possibly even more entrancing than in the tales. But what if her perfect prince is instead in love with - a lowly servant? AU Sasunaru.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Maybe (hopefully) this'll help improve my writing skills. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the storyline.

**Warnings: **Yaoi. Boy's love. If you don't like that, you can just leave. With a knife implanted in your skull, of course.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Sasuke sat in the back seat of his father's limousine, crossing his arms and staring crossly through hooded eyes and angled eyebrows out the window in such a way that anyone who chanced a glance into the tinted windows immediately looked away, wide eyed in fear. Yes, Uchiha Sasuke could be a very intimidating man when he tried. Of course, it helped to be the groom-to-be of the Princess herself.

"Don't sulk, Sasuke." Sasuke turned his head slowly to glare at his father, who was seated next to him. The mighty lord, Uchiha Fugaku. Sasuke could laugh at the ridiculous title, if he even laughed these days. He'd long since dropped the merry smile on his face from his younger days. "It makes a bad impression."

"It's not like I have anyone to impress, anyway." In truth, Sasuke impressed without even trying. His tall, imposing figure, flawless visage, and glossy raven spikes had women falling to their knees in hopes of winning his favor. Little did they know, Sasuke had absolutely no interest in them. Rather, he had no interest in women at all.

Fugaku tsked. "You're to be married to the Princess-"

"I don't want to be married to her, Father!" Sasuke interrupted, flaring. "I want to find someone that I love, that I-"

"You mean, you want to find a man that you love."

Sasuke swallowed before looking away, his bangs falling into his eyes. "I never should have told you."

Fugaku placed a hand on his son's shoulder, but it was quickly shaken off. "It's perfectly fine if you prefer men," he consoled, "But this is for the sake of our country."

"Find someone else to do it! Why couldn't _Itachi_ have done it? We're not even of royalty and I'm only eighteen! I have no intention at all of marrying that pink haired, spoiled brat!"

"Uchiha-san." The crackly male voice burst through a speaker set in the walls of the vehicle, interrupting their conversation. "We have arrived."

No sooner had he finished speaking, the doors to the limousine opened, two servants dressed smartly in white shirts tucked into pressed black pants standing on either side of the doors.

"Come, Sasuke." Fugaku rose and climbed out, Sasuke just behind him. Brushing off their suits, they straightened and surveyed the palace. Sasuke scoffed inwardly. He had seen _much_ bigger buildings in his lifetime. But what the place lacked in size, it made up for with design. Fugaku led Sasuke through the intricate iron-wrought gate and up the neat little path lined with flowerbeds and large expanses of perfectly cut green grass on each side, trailed by the two servants walking with their hands clasped behind their backs and their heads bowed. The palace itself was made of cream colored stone, the domes and turrets old fashioned but modernized with statues and other add-ons decorating them. The front doors were large oak things, more intricate swirls of iron splayed over the wood and two glittering gold doorknobs set at waist height.

The doors opened inward before either could even raise a hand to knock, two more servants bowing and gesturing for them to come in. Sasuke cast a glance around the interior as the doors closed with a loud thud behind him. It was all marble and gray stone, multiple sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling all down the length of the hall in front of them. A red carpet covered the floor, the walls covered in tapestry and red velvet curtains hung to the sides of ten foot tall windows overlooking the palace grounds.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke grit his teeth and set his eyes to the girl approaching down the hall, the muffled clicks of her shoes echoing off the high ceiling. As she stepped into the bright sunlight shining through the windows, Sasuke shivered. She was dressed in a long blue gown that trailed behind her, the skirt split in two so that her pale, long legs peeked through the material with every step she took. Her pink hair was pulled in an elegant updo, glittering with diamonds as the sunlight hit it, while a blue sapphire hanging on a silver chain adorned her neck and exposed chest.

"Sakura." Sasuke purposefully left out her title as he extended his hand. He'd only met the girl once or twice before, and from what he had seen, she in no way deserved to be called Princess.

Sakura instead latched on tightly to his arm, turning so they were side by side. Sasuke, taken by surprise, jerked his arm back, but Sakura had a surprisingly strong grip. "I've been _dying_ to see you!" she practically squealed, her green eyes sparkling as they stared into Sasuke's unfeeling black ones. "Come into the dining room, my parents would much like to meet you as well!"

The girl practically dragged Sasuke behind her, Fugaku chuckling as he witnessed his son's distress. He followed the pair through the twists and turns of the palace halls until they emerged in a lavishly decorated room with a huge banquet table set in the center and covered with candleholders and a white tablecloth, the King and Queen seated regally on white leather couches to the side with glasses of wine held daintily in their fingers.

"Your Majesties." Sasuke and Fugaku both bowed, while Sakura continued her incessant squealing.

"Fugaku, Sasuke." The queen extended her arm to point them to the couch positioned perpendicular to theirs. "Sit."

Sasuke hissed between his teeth. He'd never liked being told what to do. Nonetheless, he sat with his father, being extra careful to take up as much room as possible so that Sakura would not attempt to sit between the pair. Fugaku seemed to sense his intentions and played along, sitting with his legs spread slightly wider than usual.

"Welcome to our home." The Queen looked upon them with a warm light in her eyes. "As you know, you're to live here with us for the next six months until Sasuke and Sakura are married. However, you, Fugaku, are free to return home."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Fugaku bowed his head slightly.

The King chuckled, slapping his knee. "Now now, old man, there'll be no formalities so long as you are in _this_ house! While you are here, it's Kizashi and Mebuki!" He gestured to himself, and then his wife.

"Certainly," Fugaku laughed slightly in return.

"We have the room you're staying in all planned out, you should be able to figure out how things work here soon enough." Mebuki smiled at Sasuke. "For your convenience, we've let you choose your own personal servant. He'll be helping you with your duties, your chores, and he'll be the one you turn to if you have any questions, seeing as Sakura won't always be available to spend time with you.

'_Thank the heavens,' _Sasuke thought, relieved.

"Come out, now!" Mebuki called toward the kitchen. The door burst open and seven servants walked out, lining up in front of the group for Sasuke's scrutiny. They were all carrying an assortment of things. Trays, towels, glasses. Sasuke ran his eyes over the servants, and he couldn't help but notice that one of them seemed rather different from the rest.

He wasn't standing in the submissive pose like the rest of them were, with their heads down and bodies bowed. He instead had a towel slung over his shoulder, his body slightly angled away from Sasuke. He was glaring shamelessly at Sasuke as well, his eyebrows furrowed and his nosebridge crinkled. His eyes told a tale of unspoken fury and hatred, and his lips were curled at him. He was also dressed differently; he wore a black vest over the white shirt and black pants, a necklace with a sparkling teal stone hanging from its black cord. The man was short and rather small, with a shock of bright blonde hair and the bluest eyes Sasuke had ever seen and sunkissed skin that was to die for. As Sasuke stared, a red streak caught his gaze, revealing itself to be a small fox. The fox sat on the blonde's shoes, curling its tail around his paws and licking at the fur on its neck.

Sasuke wrenched his eyes from the scene. "That one," he pointed at the blonde servant, who went rigid with shock and outrage. Sasuke had to admit, he rather liked the sense of individuality and rebelliousness that screamed from the blonde. He was different, and Sasuke decided that he wanted to keep him.

"Naruto?" Sakura piped up. She was staring at Naruto with the same amount of hatred that Naruto was staring at Sasuke, and she was sneering. "Are you sure you want him? That thing is an absolute monster."

Naruto's blue eyes wavered for a moment at the comment. "Sakura!" Kizashi scolded. "That's no way to talk to anyone."

Sakura sneered and turned away. "That thing can be barely considered a human."

"Are you sure? Naruto's one of our best, but he can get a bit hard to handle at times." Mebuki's eyes softened as she looked at the blonde.

"Yes. I want him."

"Naruto!" Mebuki called in a gentle voice. "Come and introduce yourself to Sasuke!"

It didn't go unnoticed by Naruto or Sasuke at how Sakura purposefully shied away as Naruto approached. As Naruto turned his blazing gaze to meet Sasuke's steady one, the muscles in his jaw began working. "Uzumaki Naruto." He stuck out a hand.

Up close, Sasuke could see all the little things that made Naruto so different from anyone else he had ever seen before. The three whiskerlike scars on his cheek, the smaller scar that split his eyebrow in two, the darker blonde strands that streaked through his sunshine yellow spikes, how Naruto's eyes seemed to pulse with a million different shades of blue. Sasuke decided, in that moment, that blue was undoubtedly his new favorite color. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"_Bow,_ slave." Sasuke had to refrain from punching the pinkette upon hearing her snarled order. Her father was right; no one deserved to be treated like that.

Naruto hesitated before succumbing. He pulled back his hand and clenched it into a fist, angling his body downward at a slight angle.

"That's hardly a bow." Sasuke couldn't believe how incredibly rude Sakura was being to this beautiful servant.

Naruto's palm began bleeding from the fingernail marks as he lowered his body further. After a couple of seconds, he straightened, looking worriedly for any negative reactions from Sakura.

"You'll have to deal with Kurama there," Kizashi chuckled, pointing at the small fox. "The little rascal doesn't go with anyone but Naruto. He follows him around like a lost puppy. Naruto, get our guest a glass of wine, won't you?"

"Hai, Kizashi-sama." Naruto shot Sasuke a murderous glare before turning his back and stalking off. Naruto extended his hand at the fox, flicking his fingers once at it. The animal bounded up to him and leapt onto his shoulder.

'_So that's the famous Uchiha Sasuke, huh?' _Naruto thought before throwing open the door to the kitchen. '_Che, he's all talk. He doesn't deserve her at all.'_

* * *

**A/N: **Kind of an abrupt ending, but meh. How is it? Feedback is greatly appreciated. Sarge out! ^~^


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I was up all night trying to think of how Sasuke's personality should be :c but I think I've settled on something that's less than perfect, but hopefully we'll be able to fix that as the story goes on. :D

**Disclaimer: **Kiba is, and always will be, mine.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Damn fox," Naruto chuckled as the fox swiped its tail along his cheek, the fur tickling his nose. He grabbed the little animal by its paws and wrapped it like a scarf around his neck, with two of its paws resting on his right shoulder and its hind paws resting on his left. The fox squealed in protest, but Naruto only laughed and tickled it under its chin. "You'll fall if you keep sitting there."

Naruto bent, searching for the cabinet where the cooks stored the wine and wine glasses. Luckily, the cabinets were all impeccably organized, thanks to Mebuki ordering the servants to clean everything before Sakura's fiancé arrived. He found the wine on after a few seconds and grasped it with one hand, this other entangling three wine glasses between his fingers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another servant enter and approach him.

"Yo, Kiba." They had been friends ever since they were small; Naruto knew him well enough to distinguish him by just his footsteps, his heavy footfalls and slight limp in his left leg from a dog attack unique to only Kiba in the palace. "Get me a platter and a corkscrew, will ya?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow before whisking off and searching through the cupboards high above the sink. "Do you really need a platter for this sort of thing?"

"That Uchiha Sasuke guy looks like he'd expect his phone calls delivered on a silver platter, arrogant little brat." Naruto snorted, nodding his thanks and depositing the wine and glasses on the platter that Kiba had fetched.

"You know…" Kiba shifted uncomfortably as Naruto straightened and balanced the platter on the tips of his fingers, Kurama slipping a bit before scrambling back to its perch on Naruto's shoulder. "Maybe it's time you gave up on her."

"It's not that easy." Naruto's voice was tight with bitterness. "Even if she doesn't feel back for me… I don't want her to marry any son of a gun that doesn't love her back."

"You haven't even met him yet. Who's to say that he's as bad as you think?"

Naruto scoffed derisively before opening the kitchen door, being careful not to let any of his cargo fall. "Uchihas are always greedy bastards."

The door slipped shut behind him as Naruto strode across the polished marble floor, his shoes squeaking in the uncomfortable silence that had fallen as soon as he had emerged. He noticed that the other servants had gone, most likely to tend to their other duties. The thought made him feel strangely lonely and unprotected.

Naruto stopped in front of the quietly conversing families, grabbing the corkscrew and deftly opening the wine bottle, twisting the screw with only one hand as his other shifted the platter back and forth to keep the glasses balanced. He held the neck of the bottle as he expertly transferred the platter with its three glasses to his other hand, tipping the bottle and filling each glass halfway, not spilling a drop. He returned the bottle to the platter and started making his rounds, refilling Mebuki and Kizashi's glasses and smiling at the murmured words of thanks. He held out a glass to Sakura, who snatched it from his fingers, and one to Fugaku. As he was extending his hand to give the last glass of wine to Sasuke, whom he noticed refused to look at Sakura even as she was talking to him, Kurama chose that moment to leap off his shoulder, the force making his arm jerk as the wine spilled over the sides of the glass and right onto Sasuke's lap.

Sakura let out a loud, scandalized gasp, while Naruto's eyes widened in horror. Sasuke, however, didn't seem to notice at all; he had his smoldering eyes fixated firmly on Naruto's face.

"Let me get you something for that, sir, I'm very sorry that happened," Naruto apologized in barely more than a whisper.

Sakura stood to her full height, her eyes alight with fury. "How can you be so clumsy on one of the most important days _of my life?_" she snarled. "Your incompetence is sickening-"

"Sakura." Sasuke threw out his arm, stopping her advances on Naruto, who looked absolutely terrified. "It's alright." '_Except it isn't,' _Sasuke thought scathingly. _'Does she treat all the servants like this?'_

Sakura continued to glare daggers at Naruto before turning loving eyes on her fiancé. "Come on, Sasuke-kun. Let's get you cleaned up. And _you,_" she turned on Naruto, "You're going up with us, and then we'll have a little talk."

Naruto nodded numbly, setting the platter on the coffee table and following Sakura and Sasuke to the staircase, Kurama trotting hot at his heels. The blonde could do nothing but stare straight ahead, and despite his fear of Sakura's disapproval, he felt the hot flames of anger licking at his insides as Sakura clutched at Sasuke's arm despite the fact that the man was attempting to discreetly push her away. Small bits of their conversation found their way into his ears, but all he could think about was how Sasuke was completely silent, not even attempting to contribute to the conversation.

Soon, he found that he couldn't bear the sight of Sakura trying desperately to coax words out of the cold, silent man beside her, and his eyes fell to the marble stairs, listening to only the echoing thuds of his shoes against the marble and the small pattering clicks that Kurama's paws made. He motioned to the fox, and it obediently jumped into Naruto's arms, settling itself and purring as Naruto's hand began feathering along its back.

As Sasuke gradually began zoning out of the high pitched, grating voice of Sakura, he couldn't help but glance back to see what Naruto was doing. Upon seeing Naruto burying his nose into the reddish orange fur of the fox's slender snout, he couldn't help the lazy smirk that made its way onto his lips. Something about the innocence of the blonde made him want to rip it all away from him, to be the one to expose Naruto to the harsh realities of the world.

Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was arrogant, though being the son of a lord could do that to someone.

By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Naruto's legs were burning. Despite how many times he'd raced up and down the grand staircase before, he would never get used to how tiring it could be.

"Your room will be in the left wing," he heard Sakura say cheerfully. "My room's in the right, unfortunately, but I begged my parents to put us in a room together and they still said no." Naruto clenched his teeth so hard they squeaked against each other. It was a pain to listen to Sakura dote on Sasuke, who didn't even return her feelings.

Sasuke nodded, trying to hold back a yawn as Sakura led him to the large left wing. She pointed to the third door along the row as they entered the large hallway. "That one's your room. The bathroom's the next door over," she shifted her hand to point to the bathroom, "and that's his room." Sakura carelessly flung her hand to the door directly across the hall from Sasuke's. "I tried to get you a room that was far away from his, but my parents seem to think that it would be best to have you live as close to your servant as possible."

"It's fine, I don't mind." Sasuke drawled lazily. He was ready to be done with the pink haired girl already.

Sakura smiled at him before spinning around, her previously kind tone replaced by a cold, angry one. "Naruto."

Naruto walked forward a few steps, shifting the fox in his arms. Though it might have sounded silly, it comforted him have another being present with him when Sakura began getting upset.

"Don't come any closer."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, and Sasuke could visibly see the hurt forming in his eyes.

"You are to apologize to Sasuke-kun, help him change, and you are to respect him above all others." Sakura ordered. "You will obey every single one of his orders and attend to his every need, even if you're unwilling."

Sasuke rather liked the sound of that. Naruto only nodded quietly, though he was seething inside.

"Get out of my sight." Sakura said spitefully.

Naruto walked with his head down to his room, closing the door gently behind him, feeling Sakura's eyes burning into his back every step of the way.

He flopped down on his bed, running his fingers tiredly through his hair. "Kurama, why the hell does she hate me so much?" he asked, as if the fox could respond. Kurama only whimpered a bit, laying down near Naruto's head.

"Everything's changed so much since back then," Naruto whispered. "Mebuki and Kizashi have always been kind to their subjects, but Sakura… when did she become like that? And what the hell," his voice hardened with a steely edge, "does she see in that Uchiha bastard? He's done nothing for her, he doesn't even like her back! The least he could do is pretend to like her! He doesn't deserve respect for _anyone. _Maybe Kiba's right._" _Naruto was breathing hard, too caught up in his fury to notice the door to his room opening. "Maybe I should just give up."

"Naruto, is it?"

Naruto's head shot up, his body jumping in surprise to see Sasuke standing at the foot of his bed with his arms crossed and a condescending smirk directed at him. "What's it to-" he stopped himself before he could finish his aggressive sentence. '_Sakura said to respect him,' _he told himself, taking a deep breath and sitting up. "Yes, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke's smirk widened. "You want to come help me with this?" he asked, gesturing rather suggestively to his lap.

Naruto sighed, trying to control his anger. "Come with me."

Naruto slunk out of bed and walked quickly to Sasuke's room, wanting nothing more than to get this done as quickly as possible. He pushed down the handle to Sasuke's double closet doors and pulled out a freshly cleaned pair of black slacks. "Change into those." He threw the pants at Sasuke, who was lounging with his forearm pressed against the doorframe and his body leaned so that he took up all the room in the doorway.

Sasuke caught the slacks easily and unfolded them, raising an eyebrow at the still glaring Naruto. "Unless you want to see the show, I would turn around."

Naruto swore under his breath and turned, crossing his arms and standing with his feet spread apart. Sasuke smirked as he unbuttoned his soaked pants, mentally applauding himself for earning an unobstructed view of Naruto's arse. He quickly pulled the other pair on, picking up his old ones and straightening them out. "You can turn around now."

"I'll take those for you," Naruto bit out, snatching the pants from Sasuke and pushing past him into the hall.

Sasuke stared after him, his eyes garnering a mischievous glint. "Run while you can, dobe," he breathed.

* * *

**A/N: **I. Do. Not. Like. This. Chapter. Ugh. With that said, I need a bit of help deciding from you guys. Would you rather have the mood of the story kept light, or would you rather me delve more into Naruto's past and have it more mystery, angsty, dramatic, and cinematic? Right now, the mystery is appealing to me more because it would be much more interesting/easier to read and write, as well as less cliché and more original, but it would get pretty dark in the middle there. And if it were kept light and easy, well Sakura would just be a bitch with no real reason. So which do you guys want? ^.^ Please let me know.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thank you all for helping me decide on where the story's going to go :3 I think I've finished planning out the story.

**Disclaimer: ***huggles Kiba*

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Naruto yawned and stretched. Today was _not_ going to be a good day, he could already tell. He got out of bed and promptly stumbled flat on his face. Nope, not a good day at all. He pushed himself up and stared sleepily at himself in the mirror.

'_Should I get dressed? Is it really worth it?' _Naruto thought to himself, staring at his half-naked body, with only a pair of black sweatpants covering his legs. He raised his gaze to his face, observing his half mast, watering eyes and the blonde spikes that stuck up erratically no matter what he tried. Though today, his hair was completely obscured by the small fox that lay sleeping atop his head, much like Akamaru did to Kiba when he was still small. The fox's paws hung down on either side of Naruto's face, reminding him of Sasuke's bangs. '_Dumb fox,' _Naruto thought silently.

He decided that it wasn't worth getting dressed just for Sasuke, and instead padded over to his window and threw open the curtains. The sky was still dark, with only a thin strip of orange light making itself visible above the horizon. Naruto ran his hands over his face a couple of times, trying to force himself to wake up. Glancing over to the clock set on his nightstand, Naruto gave a gusty sigh as he forced himself away from the window and out the door, wondering if Sasuke was a morning person. He'd gotten punched in the face more than enough times to be wary of guests that needed waking.

Naruto looked around the dark hallway. It seemed that no one was up, which was strange. Usually, his fellow servants were already up and about at the break of dawn. Shrugging it off, he continued across the hall, his toes digging into the plush carpet. When he reached the door, he eyed it nervously and set a hand on the doorknob, knocking three times with his other and opening it quietly. Naruto shook Kurama off his head, catching him around the waist as he stepped forward and immediately crashed into something very solid.

"YAAH!" Naruto screamed, leaping high into the air, dropping the fox, and stumbling back, only to have his wrist caught by a surprisingly warm hand. "You damn teme! You scared me to death!" he yowled, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

Sasuke smiled, shrouded in the dark and still grasping the wrist. In his moment of vulnerability, Naruto had let all of his guard down and…well, it sounded almost as if he were talking to a friend. As if he'd momentarily forgotten the hatred he'd harbored for Sasuke. The thought made Sasuke's chest feel warm, something he hadn't felt for years. "Dobe, what are you doing here?"

Naruto yanked his wrist back, clutching at his heart and breathing heavily. "I was _going_ to wake you up," he whined, a hint of a pout pushing his lip forward, "But then you had to go and give me a heart attack."

Sasuke snorted. "It's not my fault you're a coward."

"Shut up and get dressed, I'll see you down in the dining hall for breakfast." Naruto turned and walked stiffly away, his fists clenched as he stomped to the staircase. "You'd better hurry, we're late as it is!" he called back over his shoulder.

Sasuke watched Naruto leave before he closed the door and leaned against it, covering his eyes with his arm. Years of isolation had left him friendless, stripping away all of his knowledge of social norms. He could only hope that he'd handled the situation well enough back there.

After all, he thought as he dug around in the closet, grabbing whatever clothes came to hand, it wasn't every day he got to meet a person like Naruto. Unlike everyone else, who had been awestruck and even intimidated at the mere sight of an Uchiha, Naruto had glared, called him names, and even now he didn't seem sorry at all for anything he'd done to Sasuke.

Sasuke wasn't even sure if he really knew _how_ to be caring anymore. Ever since his mother passed away, he'd been forced to grow up too fast; what friends he did have began to call him "sir" by the age of nine, and they soon moved away. Sasuke's eyes darkened at the memories, pulling a shirt around his naked chest and buttoning it up. The lack of parental love had made him grow up cold and calculating, mirroring the ways of his father, and his brother never had the time to spare for Sasuke. His smiles turned into smirks, his compliments hid behind condescending remarks. Sasuke hated being a lord; he wanted to be of normal status, so that for once he could relive the times in the past when people had saw him for Sasuke, and not the son of Lord Fugaku.

Despite himself, a small but genuine smile began tugging at his lips as the image of a furiously scowling Naruto wavered to his mind. '_I wonder if this is what it feels like,' _Sasuke thought to himself absentmindedly as he straightened himself out, standing in front of the mirror. '_To have a friend.'_

Though he couldn't deny that he was still set on the fact that he would make Naruto his, Sasuke decided that just having him as a friend alone would make him the happiest man in the world.

* * *

Naruto stood uncomfortably next to Sasuke's seat at the table, his hands clasped behind his back and tacky with sweat. The royal family was seated, eating silently, and he was beginning to feel queasy from Sakura's constant seething glances at the absence of Naruto's charge. The minutes ticked by, and Naruto was getting more and more fidgety.

Just as Naruto thought he would explode and lay sobbing at the King's feet, Sasuke entered the hall, his footsteps loud in the silence as he straightened his tie. Naruto brightened, his shoulders sagging with relief as Sasuke approached.

"Don't be late next time," he hissed at the raven, before whisking away and heading into the kitchens, wiping his palms on his pants.

"I'm very sorry about him," Sakura's voice rang through the hall, making Naruto freeze with his hand on the doorknob. "He's always been a monster to everyone."

"Sakura!" Mebuki and Kizashi reprimanded harshly. "How many times do we have to tell you? You _never_ speak to anyone like that!"

"He deserves it." Sakura sniffed.

Naruto turned his head slightly to the side, enough to see Sakura smiling to herself as Sasuke stared at him with emotionless eyes. He blinked back the prickling beginning to plague his own, and opened the door and closed it without a sound.

* * *

"Kiba," Naruto moaned. "Why does she hate me so much?"

Kiba cast his eyes downward before plopping a hand roughly into Naruto's hair in an attempt to comfort him. "Don't worry about her. I don't know what's up with her," he said carefully, "But whatever it is, it sure ain't your fault."

"What if it is?" Naruto rolled over on his bed and quickly looked past Kiba, who was seated next to him, to make sure the door was closed. "Maybe it is my fault."

Kiba hesitated, a strange, faraway look in his eyes before he shook his head. "It isn't, Naruto." He responded firmly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kiba. "Why do I get the feeling that you're not telling me something?" he muttered, propping himself up on his forearms.

"I'm not hiding anything." Kiba shifted, the mattress rocking. "So how are things with Sasuke?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

All thoughts of interrogating Kiba were immediately chased from Naruto's mind. "Oh, MAN." He exploded. "Don't even get me _started."_

Kiba chuckled as he settled into a more comfortable position. "I can't wait to hear this."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasuke was sitting at a white-lacquered table in the palace grounds with Sakura, a cup of untouched tea sitting in front of him. Everything Sakura was saying was going in one ear and out the other; he had resigned himself to staring at the midday sun's reflection on the cloudy greenish brown surface of the tea.

"Hmm… What do you think, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke slowly lifted his gaze to Sakura's, which were gleaming with excitement. "Should we have purple or white tablecloths?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed in contemplation, but his thoughts were far from wedding preparations. "Hn, purple." He saw Sakura's mouth opening to respond, but quickly cut her off. "Sakura?"

"Yes?" Sakura quipped excitedly, delighted at how Sasuke was now talking to her.

"Why do you hate Naruto so much?" he asked bluntly. Sasuke was never one to beat around the bush, anyway.

"Huh?" Sakura seemed surprised. "Why do you ask?"

"The way you talk to him." Sasuke began running a finger around the rim of his cup. "It's like he did something unforgivable to you."

"He did." Sakura's voice was hard and clipped.

"May I ask what it was?" Sasuke asked after a moment's pause.

"I…" Sakura bowed her head, her hair covering her face. "I don't know."

Sasuke leaned forward slightly at those words, frowning. "Come again?"

"I don't know!" Sakura's voice began shaking slightly. "I don't know, it's just his fault, alright? I just know it is." Her voice trailed off.

"I understand. Please, continue with what you were saying." Sasuke sat back as Sakura flashed him a grateful smile. Inside, however, his thoughts were in utter turmoil. Something about this whole situation just seemed…wrong.

* * *

"I mean, what is _with _that high and mighty attitude?" Naruto fumed, now pacing back and forth in front of Kiba. "He doesn't even give Sakura-chan the time of day-"

"Just like Sakura doesn't to you?" Kiba interjected casually, scratching the red, triangular mark on his cheek.

"No-it's different," Naruto replied irritably. "I'm just a servant. He's betrothed to her! Shouldn't he at least acknowledge her?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that Sasuke doesn't _want_ to marry Sakura?"

Naruto stopped dead. "Well…no," he admitted, "But who wouldn't want to marry her?"

"Personally, I think this all is a load of bull," Kiba huffed, standing and heading to the door. "Sasuke should be able to marry whoever he likes. And sooner or later, Sakura's going to have to realize that the world doesn't revolve around her." The brunette shot a two fingered salute at Naruto before shutting the door behind him. "Take care, Foxface."

Naruto stood silently, processing his thoughts with his fists clenched at his sides. "If Sakura-chan never gave me the time of day," he whispered to himself, wrapping his fingers around the blue crystal dangling around his neck, "Why do I remember her giving me this?"

Unbeknownst to Naruto, Sasuke, who had been on his way back to his room, had overheard everything he had said since Kiba had exited the room. He now stood motionlessly, his ear a centimeter away from Naruto's door as his brain worked overtime to piece everything together. '_What on earth happened between these two?'_

* * *

**A/N: **Um so FF is down. Whyyy D: But on the other hand, you get to see more and more into the backstories of our three favorite characters! Pretty soon, we'll be getting down to the good part. But maybe a little too soon…I've always noticed how moving too fast is one of my main issues when it comes to writing. I'm desperately trying to fix it, but it always slips through my fingers somehow. Onward to the next chapter! Sarge out!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Naruto sat in front of the television, the noises registering faintly in his head as he rearranged a bowl of fruit on the low, granite-set coffee table. He leaned back and looked it over carefully, then shook his head and moved the fruit around some more, adjusting the bowl's angle over and over.

Eventually, his sight melted into the red, orange, yellow, and green tones of the fruit and his focus was directed intently at the bowl, looking and readjusting. It was an astonishing thing, Naruto thought, of how far one could go for a bit of entertainment when they were bored. And just like almost all things that Naruto touched, the fruit bowl went tumbling over the edge of the table as he started violently at the appearance of his rival.

"Where is everyone?"

"GAH!" The multicolored fruits rolled in all directions as Naruto's arm jerked against the red glass of the bow. "Jesus Christ!" Naruto gasped, clenching the front of his shirt in a fist. "You've got to stop doing that! Your existence is bad for my heart!" Naruto burst out angrily.

Sasuke only cocked an eyebrow at Naruto, repeating his earlier question. "Where is everyone?"

God, Naruto _hated_ the smugness of the Uchiha. "Well, the King and Queen are in the palace grounds. That breakfast yesterday was only a gesture of hospitality, you know. From now on, you're free to eat whenever and wherever you like, and your duties consist of only pleasing Sakura-chan." Naruto frowned as it dawned on him how disheveled Sasuke was looking. "Had a bad sleep?"

Naruto moved forward, taking Sasuke's lopsided shirt in his hands and unbuttoning it, aligning the buttons to their correct buttonholes and taking the two loose ends of the tie in his nimble fingers. Sasuke watched Naruto without a word.

"Sit down, will ya?" Naruto snapped. "You're too tall for me to reach you."

Sasuke's lips twitched up at one corner as he brushed past Naruto's shoulder to sit in his abandoned place at the couch. "Didn't she order you to be nice to me?" the raven teased.

Naruto frowned as stood in front of him and began running his fingers gently through Sasuke's hair, smoothing out the various kinks and tangles in the silky black strands. "Shouldn't you treat Sakura-chan a bit more nicely?" Naruto asked innocently. "You could, at the very least, refer to her with her title or something."

"That would only be giving her false hope." Naruto's cool fingers felt good against his scalp, and Sasuke was beginning to relax his tense shoulders.

Naruto immediately cuffed the back of Sasuke's head. "Get off your high horse," Naruto reprimanded. "She's the Princess, and at the moment you're not even a full lord yet."

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Sasuke asked mildly, the light of curiosity shining in his eyes. He wasn't even too upset with the thought of a mere servant putting him in his place; he'd spent the entire night turning over in his sleep, deep in thought.

Naruto's whole body stiffened beside him, and Sasuke could practically smell the denial radiating from the blonde. "What makes you think that?"

"I can see the way you look at her, even after she treats you like a monster."

Naruto's indignation was slowly giving way to outrage. "What are you suggesting?"

"That Sakura's not worth your time, given how much of a brat she is." Sasuke could quickly feel his attempts at getting Naruto's eyes to open failing miserably as his blue eyes darkened to a stormy, roiling hue. "Do you _like_ being treated like shit?"

Naruto balled Sasuke's pressed collar into his fists, shoving the dark haired man until his back met with the white leather of the couch. "What makes you think you know anything about her? About us?" Naruto pushed his face closer until he and Sasuke were nose to nose, glaring furiously at each other. "Quit being an asshole!"

"If I'm the one treating you like shit, would you begin falling for me?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Naruto's knuckles began turning white at that. "We were _friends_ once, you bastard! Like hell I'm giving up on my best friend!"

At that moment, Sakura strode in, her heels clacking loudly against the floor. She gave a loud gasp at seeing the position Sasuke and Naruto were in, and quickly walked over with a furious expression.

Naruto quickly let go of Sasuke, who sat up straight and began fixing his shirt, which had ridden up over his stomach at Naruto's rough treatment.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sakura's tone was cold and icy. It would have easily given any person lesser than an Uchiha chills.

Naruto's knees began to tremble. "I'm very sorry about that, Sakura-chan," Naruto mumbled, hanging his head. "It was my fault."

"Filthy animal!" Sakura hissed vehemently. With one sudden movement, she jerked Naruto's chin upwards and slapped him.

Sasuke jumped to his feet, anger boiling in the pit of his stomach, as Naruto's head snapped to the side, the blonde locks falling limply into his eyes. Naruto couldn't bear to turn his gaze back on Sakura's fury-etched face, so he clamped down hard on his cheek with his teeth to keep from losing whatever control he had left as his neck remained in the uncomfortable position.

"Get out of my sight," Sakura breathed, her chest heaving. "I don't want to see you for the rest of the day."

Though Naruto had heard those words a countless number of times, it didn't make the bite of the hateful words any less painful. He nodded weakly, his cheek burning red with the force of the stinging strike. He carefully brushed past both of them, walking quickly away until he had left them behind on the stairs. As he dragged himself dejectedly along the stone steps, he swiped a finger along the inside of his bitten cheek. It came out feathered with dark red, the blood spreading and filling the lines that swirled and creased on his finger. Naruto let out a gusty breath that he didn't know he'd been holding and ventured into the right wing of the palace.

* * *

"Back again, Naruto?" Shizune smiled cheerfully as Naruto opened the door to the infirmary. "What did you do?"

Naruto just shook his head and managed a smile, but it was one that didn't reach his eyes. "Well, I actually-"

"Shizune!" A blonde woman wearing a green coat over her nurse garb stomped into the vicinity. "Who's it this time?"

"Naruto-kun again," Shizune swept her hand at him. Naruto widened his false grin and waved.

Tsunade took one look at him and sighed. "Che, this one. No guts at all," she snorted, but when she extended her hand for him to take, her brown eyes were soft with knowing concern.

Naruto dropped his hand into hers and pulled himself up, dragging his feet as they walked into her office. Tsunade directed Naruto to sit on the bed, before heading to her supply drawers and rummaging through them, berating Naruto the entire time.

"Brat, you're going to have to learn to stand up for yourself against that Princess," Tsunade scolded. She took out some cotton balls and a white bottle of alcohol. "This is just getting worse and worse."

"You know, old hag, sometimes I hate how you can read me so well," Naruto grumbled, but he was shining inside. Tsunade had always held a special place in his heart, and he had often thought of her as more of a mother than anyone else.

"Shut up," Tsunade retorted, before taking Naruto's chin gently in her hand and tilting it to the side. "She's strong," she tsked, observing the red, swollen welt that had risen on Naruto's cheek and the connected bruise along his jaw.

"She's Sakura-chan," Naruto mumbled. "Of course she's strong."

Tsunade, who was busying herself with the alcohol, looked up sharply. "You know, this is only hurting you."

"It's not hurting me," Naruto replied, before yelping in pain as Tsunade slapped a dripping cotton ball over his wound.

"You're bleeding, gaki." Tsunade pressed down firmly with one hand, squishing Naruto's cheeks together. "Besides, the likes of that brat doesn't deserve anyone like you. Just leave her for that Lord boy."

"But he doesn't love her back," Naruto muttered, his words garbled by his cheeks. "I want her to be happy."

"Does it make a difference? I want _you_ to be happy, and yet here you come almost every week with bruises on your cheeks and ribs."

Naruto winced at the memory of the last time Sakura had lost control, resulting in a kicking match on the floor and quite a few bruised ribs for Naruto. "It's different. I love her."

Tsunade snorted loudly in derision and smacked Naruto upside the head, whispering something that sounded suspiciously like, "I love you too." Her voice soon returned to its loud pitch, and she began berating him soundly.

"You're a teenager, practically at the standpoint of jumping anything that walks on two legs and breathes. You don't know anything about love, and if you had, you'd have long given up on her," Tsunade scolded.

Naruto pouted. "I'm almost an adult, Baa-chan!"

"Seventeen, but with the mental age of four," Tsunade growled before reaching into her cabinet once more. "Press that to your cheek and get the hell out," she ordered, tossing an icepack at Naruto's forehead.

Naruto caught the thing just in time and stood, wiping excess alcohol off his raw cheek. "Grumpy old hag," he whined under his breath before slinking out.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Tsunade roared behind him, causing Naruto to laugh and break into a run as he held the freezing pack to his cheeks.

"Later!"

Shizune stared after him, not even flinching as a red faced, fuming Tsunade stormed into the waiting area.

"Stupid, cheeky, insolent brat," Tsunade hissed vehemently. "The next time he comes here I'm throwing a syringe at his face."

* * *

Naruto flattened himself against the wall as he heard the faintly uneven footsteps begin heading closer and closer to his hiding place next to the entrance to the stairwell. _'Just a little bit longer…' _ Naruto took a deep breath, his eyes trained on the ground near the entrance and his ear pressed to the wall.

As soon as he saw the tips of the black shoes, he flung himself off of the wall and sprang, crashing in a heap to the floor on top of his target.

"OI! What the hell is wrong with you, Naruto?!" Kiba shouted, twisting his head to look furiously at Naruto.

Before Kiba could get out another word, Naruto shoved his tie into Kiba's open mouth and tied it tightly in a knot around the brunette's head. Kiba's eyes widened a fraction, before his eyebrows furrowed indignantly at seeing the mischievous grin Naruto sported. Naruto crawled off Kiba and grabbed the free ends of the tie, yanking Kiba to his feet and up the marble stairs.

Naruto dragged Kiba along the long hallways once they had climbed the stairs, the carpet hissing as Naruto made for the left wing. He twisted the doorknob to his door and barged in, throwing Kiba onto the bed and shutting the door behind him.

Kiba tossed his head, his breaths heavy and his chest rising and falling. Naruto carefully undid the knot behind his head and tossed the red material to the side.

"I needed to talk to you." He told Kiba seriously.

"DID IT NOT OCCUR TO YOU TO JUST ASK ME?!" Kiba yelled, red in the face.

Naruto paused. "Uh…no?" he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

Kiba yanked the blankets from underneath him and tossed them over Naruto. "What do you want?"

The white fabric rustled as Naruto pulled it off. "Well, I was insanely bored and it was an emergency."

Kiba grabbed a pillow and threw it at Naruto's face, the pillow hitting with a soft thud. "That's not an emergency, you stupid idiot!" Kiba yowled, but it was more in amusement than anger.

"Yes it was!" Naruto dropped to all fours and his eyes began moving back and forth over the floor. "I was so bored I had to resort to counting dust on the floor!" he lifted his widened eyes to look at Kiba. "I counted three hundred ninety seven! _Three hundred ninety seven!" _Naruto proclaimed dramatically, raising one hand and clutching at his heart with the other before falling flat on his back.

Kiba only rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, before he frowned and slid off the bed. "What the hell happened to your face?" he asked, running a finger over the bruises on Naruto's jaw as he bent over the blonde.

Naruto smiled weakly from his position on the floor. "Ah, you know… Sakura has some really powerful swings."

Kiba scowled and sat back on his heels. Naruto could smile, but Kiba knew him better. Naruto's eyes were full of agony. "Again?"

Naruto lifted his head. "Yeah. But don't worry, I took your advice and got an ice pack and a syringe thrown at my neck from Tsunade!"

Kiba snorted. "You still falling for her, then?"

"Always have, and always will be!" Naruto punched Kiba in the arm lightly. "But anyway, I just wanted for us to talk. Like old times." Naruto's face cracked in a brilliant smile, his eyes hopeful.

"Well, I'm done with all my chores," Kiba replied. "And you?"

"Eh, Sakura told me she didn't want to see me around," Naruto told him easily. "So…"

Kiba sighed, knowing at a glance of what the pleading expression meant. "Yeah. I'll go bring up some ramen," Kiba said reluctantly.

Naruto grinned even wider. "I love you, man!" Naruto cheered as Kiba stood.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too," Kiba replied absentmindedly.

As he left Naruto's room, the man's cheering still audible, Kiba shook his head and smiled a small, sad smile.

No matter how many times Naruto had annoyed Kiba to death, or how many times he'd gotten them both in trouble, no matter how many times they'd gotten in fistfights or argued and shouted, Kiba always felt his heart break every time Naruto seeked him out with that miserable look in his eyes.

If only Naruto knew how much it was hurting everyone else.

* * *

**A/N: **I have been waiting SO LONG for the new chapter to Naruto. *growls*

Anyway, I'm sorry this took so long to get to you guys. FanFiction was down, and I had a mountain of reports I needed to write. I'm working on the next one, and it's almost ready! And as for this chapter though, I don't feel like it was particularly well written, so some parts I'm going to edit in due time. As well as in Chapter Two, I made Sasuke come off differently than I wanted him to in the rest of the story, so he shall be fixed too. The title of this may change as well, because I discarded my original idea for this story. Later! -Sarge


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Naruto woke up in the exact same position as he always did the next morning-that is, with Kurama sprawled on his face, the red fur holding the lingering scent of its shampoo, and a massive ache in his lower neck.

"Uuurgh," Naruto moaned lowly, sitting up and letting Kurama drop into his lap. Naruto leaned over and clutched at his hair. His head was throbbing like mad and his ears were ringing faintly. Dragging his hands over his face a few times, he pulled them back almost immediately, frowning in confusion. His palms were slick with liquid. "What the hell…"

Naruto brushed two fingers under his right eye, and stared as they too came off glistening. "Was I…crying?" He closed his eyes, blinking the remaining tears off his eyelashes, while his hand began rubbing and pressing into the pain at the base of his neck. _Was I dreaming?_ Naruto mused hazily, trying to remember. He could remember flashes of it: the headlights of a car, the squealing of the brakes and then blackness. He'd never had a dream that was remotely similar. It wasn't foggy and hard to recall, with a surreal feel as most dreams were; instead, it felt almost real. Something like that shouldn't have scared him, and yet here he was, crying.

Naruto shrugged it off and wrapped a hand around Kurama, depositing him to a pillow as Naruto stretched and jumped out of bed. He pulled on his clothes in the routine that had been implanted in his brain for years: black pants, belt, white shirt, black vest, shoes, brush teeth, look presentable. Setting his hand on the cold metal of the doorknob, he paused and rolled his neck back, hoping it would alleviate some of the pain.

"Oi, lazy fox, you coming?" he called.

When he received no response from the dozing animal, Naruto tsked and swung open the door, leaving it open just enough for Kurama to slip through if he ever woke up. Naruto interlocked his fingers and pushed outwards as he walked down the hall to the staircase, as he did every morning.

Naruto lunged to the balustrade, boosting himself onto it and then sliding down, the wind from his speed blowing his bangs back. He was wobbling precariously, but Naruto could hardly care less; after all, today was a special day.

As he neared the ornate banister, he leapt off, his feet landing on two different stairs and making him stumble a bit. He was back up in no time, and he merrily crashed through the dining room and ran into the kitchen, where he knew he'd find his favorite dog lover making himself a mug of coffee.

"KIBA-CHAN!" Naruto burst through the door, pouncing on the man and knocking him to the ground, pressing kisses all over his face. "Happy half-birthday!" Naruto looked up excitedly to see the reaction, but his expression changed to confusion, and soon to horror. He'd known Kiba for a good decade or so, but unless he was mistaken, Kiba did not have spikey, bluish-black hair, nor did he have pale and flawless skin with unmarked cheeks, and he most _certainly_ did not have those deep, penetrating black eyes that were currently narrowed at Naruto with a glare promising a long, slow, and painful death.

"Uh." Naruto was petrified, his cheeks slowly heating as he begged to whatever deity who cared to listen to let him curl up and set himself aflame, shriveling into nothingness. "Um." Naruto cursed inwardly. Why was he getting all tongue tied?

Meanwhile, Sasuke's glare had decreased in fury until he was simply staring with an exasperated expression, as if Naruto had done something extremely stupid. Which, Naruto mused, he supposed he had.

"Dobe, mind getting off?" Sasuke's irritated voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh, I'm sorry, sir," Naruto managed a sheepish smile and untangled their limbs, depriving Sasuke of his weight and holding a hand out politely to help him up. Sasuke hesitated before taking it, pulling himself up and brushing his clothes off.

"You sick?" Naruto asked, frowning.

Sasuke started at being addressed in such a familiar way. "No, why?"

"Well, you look really hot. I mean-" Naruto swore as he saw the ever present smirk begin to twitch at the Uchiha's lips. "Your face is all heated."

"Well, considering that you just kissed me all over," Sasuke had to hold back a chuckle at how red Naruto turned, "It's a typical reaction to have."

"S-shut it," Naruto responded stiffly.

"Hn." Sasuke picked up his abandoned mug of coffee, sipping at the last cold, gritty dregs that remained.

Naruto sidled over, peering suspiciously at the pale blue thing. "Did you do something to Kiba?"

Sasuke lowered the mug from his lips for a few seconds to reply. "You ask the dumbest questions, dobe."

Naruto spluttered. "Well-I mean, he _never_ lets anyone else use his Holy Mug! Once I asked to make hot chocolate with it and he pretty much broke my nose with it and poured his coffee all over me!" Naruto flailed his arms to emphasize. "I stopped asking him after that," Naruto watched Sasuke drain the mug, "But mostly because Kiba got meningitis before you came," Naruto said whimsically.

Sasuke, who had been absentmindedly listening to the ramblings of the blonde, choked and spit out his coffee into the sink, coughing and wincing as the back of his throat began feeling rough and sore. "What?!"

Naruto laughed gleefully and slapped Sasuke on the back a few times. "I'm only kidding!"

Sasuke lifted a hand to wipe his mouth, glaring at Naruto as his coughs subsided. "You're awfully happy today," he commented with a hint of sarcasm.

"Of course! It's Kiba's half-birthday today!" Naruto grinned happily. It was a tradition of theirs; they celebrated birthdays, half birthdays, and occasionally quarter birthdays as well.

"Is it, now." Sasuke looked away uninterestedly, not even bothering to make the question sound curious.

"Yeah! Say, you know where he is? He's usually in the kitchen by now," Naruto asked, scratching at his nose.

"Nope, I haven't seen any servants at all today." Sasuke looked back. "Shouldn't they be up by now?"

"None at all? That's really weird," Naruto's brow creased. "Oh, wait a second! What day is it?"

"Thirty-first of January," Sasuke replied, depositing the coffee mug to the side and exiting the kitchen.

"Today's the annual Ice Parade!" Naruto spoke excitedly, bouncing along behind Sasuke as he began climbing the staircase to return to his room. "The King and Queen go every year to see it!"

"Ice Parade?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah! It's kind of weird, really. Pretty much all the artists in the country make these huge, spectacular sculptures and they bring it to the Parade. Tons of people go, and they place the sculptures out in the road and they wait for them to melt. They sit vigil until the very last block melts, and then they have a huge party celebrating the end of the winter and the birth of new life all over the world for spring! I think it's kinda sad though, I mean, those sculptors probably spent _ages_ carving those sculptures and then they just watch them melt before their very eyes?"

Sasuke had long since stopped listening, but he had to admit: it was kind of nice to have that familiar background noise trailing behind him. It reminded him of when he was little, and his mother would have the television on at almost all times. She would never watch it, but she always told him how she liked to hear the sounds because they made her feel more at home. Sasuke was beginning to understand that feeling; Naruto's ramblings made him feel a little less alone and a little more at home. Not to mention that Naruto's silliness made Sasuke want to smile. The empty-headed man just looked so pleased about everything, big or small, and he never seemed sad. Just…energetic, whether he was happy or mad. It was contagious.

"-And then Akamaru bit me, right in the ass, and then-"

"Why are the servants gone, then?"

"Oh, Mebuki insists on bringing all the servants each year. She says they deserve a little fun once in a while." Naruto beamed.

"Aren't you going?" Sasuke asked.

"Nah, I'm here to look after you, since you refused to go."

"It's trivial, and I have better things to be doing."

"Like what, talking to me?" Naruto scoffed. "Let me tell you, it's not."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as they neared his room. "So don't you just leave me alone and go to the parade?"

"Didn't I just tell you?" Naruto exclaimed. "I have to look after you! And Sakura-chan doesn't really like it when I'm there." Naruto mumbled the last part a bit sadly, his head hanging low as he followed behind Sasuke into his room.

Sasuke looked back in surprise at hearing Naruto entering behind him, but only shrugged and doubled back to shut the door. Naruto didn't appear to find the turn of events strange at all, leaping onto Sasuke's bed and rolling over, letting his legs dangle over the edge and being careful not to let his shoes touch the covers.

Sasuke's interest was immediately piqued at the mention of Sakura. "Sakura again, huh?"

Naruto glared slightly. "Don't say that. It's…rude." The blue eyes slipped shut.

Sasuke chose not to reply to that, instead walking over to sit at the edge of the bed beside Naruto. "What was she like before?"

"She was always the same. Still perfect," Naruto sighed.

"Did she always treat you like this when you were young?" Sasuke was attempting to be careful about not pressing Naruto for answers, but over the past few days he'd been mulling over Sakura's treatment and Naruto's infatuation almost obsessively. He didn't know why he cared so much; he supposed he just wanted Sakura to stop acting so despicably.

"Mmm…" Naruto hummed thoughtfully, yawning. "Depends how young you're talking about."

"Five years old?" Sasuke suggested.

"Uh…" Naruto's brows wrinkled. "Huh." His eyes opened and he sat up to mimic Sasuke's slouched posture. "I… I can't remember."

"Fine then," Sasuke wasn't too bothered with the response. "Seven or eight?"

"I…" Naruto held his head in his hands. "I can't remember anything." His voice began to sound minutely higher pitched in his distress. He didn't know why he couldn't remember, but the fact that he was even distressed at all pitched his thoughts into confusion. Normally, he wasn't bothered by anything of that sort.

Sasuke frowned at the blonde's reaction. "What's your earliest memory of Sakura?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound gentler.

"I don't know, maybe nine or ten? I think she's always been that way to me," Naruto looked up contemplatively. "But everything past that is just a white haze. I can't even remember what she looked like when we were young."

Sasuke was probably sounding suspicious, the way he was so intrigued, but he could hardly care less. "Can you describe her to me?"

"Well, she was almost exactly like she is now in terms of personality, just less mature. I know we were friends as well. And I think… I think she dyed her hair when we were young. She used to have brown hair."

"Hm," Sasuke responded, deep in thought.

"Anyway," Naruto cleared his throat uncomfortably. "How are you liking it here?" He flopped back down, spreading his arms wide and staring at the red velvet canopy.

"It's nice." Sasuke couldn't help but smirk a little. "Some of the servants are real dumbasses, though."

"Hey!" Naruto shot indignantly, but there was no masking the laughter in his voice. "You know," Naruto shifted his position again, now sitting cross-legged and staring at the side of Sasuke's face, "You're not so bad after all. Still a jerk, but I kind of like that."

Sasuke's eyes darted to Naruto, but looked away quickly. He didn't know how to respond to the compliment.

Luckily, he was saved from having to. Naruto, who had been hanging half off the bed, began to slide off on the slippery satin. "Ack!" Naruto yelped, scrabbling for a grip, before slamming to the ground, still cross legged.

The comic sight made Sasuke's eyes widen, and he had to bite his lip hard to keep the rumble of laughter from escaping.

Naruto groaned, jackknifing to his feet and clutching the junction between his shoulder and neck. "I hate your sheets." He prodded the sore muscles, wincing as they twinged with pain. "I think there's something wrong with my neck."

"Come here," Sasuke extended a hand out, beckoning Naruto towards him.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What're you going to do?"

"Fix your neck."

"Oh." Naruto looked around, as if in indecision, but eventually sat back down next to Sasuke, who swiveled so he directly behind Naruto's back.

"Where does it hurt?" Sasuke asked, taking two fingers and poking at the base of Naruto's neck. He noticed that the soft, wispy hairs were even lighter than the rest of Naruto's locks. "Here?"

"No," Naruto gave a strange grunt. It almost sounded like-

"Sasuke, that tickles." Naruto snorted again, clutching at his sides. "Quit it!"

Sasuke smiled, only doubling his ministrations on that area.

"S-stop!" Naruto gasped weakly, in throes of laughter.

Sasuke decided that he would have mercy just this once, and moved on with his fingers. "Never knew you were ticklish."

"Are _you_ ticklish?" Naruto flinched as Sasuke hit his sore muscle. "Ow, right there."

"You must sleep really weirdly if it hurts all the way over here." Sasuke pressed his thumb over the spot, beginning to move it slowly in circles. "And for the record, I'm not ticklish."

Naruto's shoulders relaxed into Sasuke's touch. "I bet you are. I bet secretly, under that whole Ice Princess act you put up, you like being cuddled and hugged." Naruto grinned at the thought. "In fact, I bet that you're a sucker for mushy-"

"I am _not_ that kind of person."

"OW! Not so hard!" Naruto whimpered.

"Change the subject."

"Fine, fine," Naruto grumbled. After a moment of silence, he said, "You know, I like this place. Quite a lot. Everyone here treats us really nicely, like we're all equals. Even the King and Queen do. And look at you," Naruto began to smile again, "Sitting here and giving your personal servant a massage."

"Shut up," Sasuke snorted.

"Pft, you can't scare me anymore."

"Oh really?"

"OW OW OW! Be gentle!"

Sasuke lessened his pressure, beginning his previous gentle movements once more. "Even if Sakura is getting married against her will, you still like it here?"

"It's hardly against her will. I mean, have you seen her?" Naruto's voice began sharpening, holding a slight bitter edge. "She's all over you."

"You still love her, then."

"Yeah…" Naruto trailed off, before bending his neck back to look at Sasuke with his face upside down. "But now that I know that you're not _completely_ a jackass, I think I can deal with it. Sorta." He smiled a lopsided grin.

Sasuke froze, his lungs holding his breath in against his will. Their faces were unbearably close, so close that Sasuke could feel Naruto's breath sliding over his face, fluttering his bangs slightly. He could see how Naruto's eyelashes were long and thick, and a shade of brown much darker than his hair. He could hear his heart beating unnaturally hard and fast in his chest, and he could feel his heartbeat even in his fingertips that rested on Naruto's neck, now buried in the gold silk of Naruto's hair. And then it hit him: _I really want to kiss him._

Naruto's eyes were wide, the smile gone from his lips. He breathed rather shallowly as he stared blankly back at Sasuke. Sasuke was transfixed as he saw Naruto's lips begin to move, and-

"I-I really need to go to the bathroom," Naruto uttered in a choked voice before snapping his neck back up and bolting off of the bed, wrenching open the door and slamming it behind him.

_That was interesting,_ Sasuke thought. He was startled as the door banged open again, barely a millisecond before it was shut, and Naruto emerged red-faced and with a tie draped over his head.

"That was the closet." Naruto mumbled in embarrassment before dashing off again, the tie slipping off his head.

Sasuke watched the fluttering piece of red material fall to the ground, but his thoughts were far from it. _What the hell was that? _Sasuke was panicking. _Why did I want to kiss him? This has never happened before! What's going on? _He was steadily getting more and more frantic, but forced himself to calm down before he went insane.

_Calm down._ He took a deep breath. _Think._ Why did he like Naruto in the first place? Obviously, Naruto was damn good looking, but Sasuke was never that shallow. _Think._ What did he like the most about Naruto? Why was Sasuke so attracted to him in the first place? Naruto was everything Sasuke was not. Loud, social, happy, excitable… Why would Sasuke be attracted to someone like that?

Sasuke must have sat there thinking for a good five minutes before it finally dawned on him. _It's because Naruto is everything I wanted to be. _He'd looked up to so many people in his life: his mother, his father, but most of all, his brother. His father had tried to beat it into him that Sasuke needed to act respectable, but Sasuke had never gotten the hang of it until he'd lost his mother. By the time his brother had left to pursue his own career, Sasuke had long since dropped his immaturity. He was everything his father had wanted him to be, but it was at the cost of Sasuke's own happiness. Sasuke had wanted nothing more than to be a normal kid with normal friends, going to a normal school. He wanted to be himself. And that was exactly what Naruto had. Naruto wasn't afraid of anything; he was annoying at times, to be sure, but his endless antics were what made everyone love him so much. Naruto was free.

As for Sasuke, he'd had to put on his carefully wrought mask every single day, pleasing others and lowering himself until he met their expectations. Each time he took the mask off, everyone would shy away and berate him for it. Soon, it led to the day that Sasuke was simply too tired to take off the mask anymore.

He'd try time and time again to remove it, but it was stuck firmly. Sasuke could only wish that he was allowed to have feelings, to smile and laugh. But through it all, Sasuke never gave in completely; he tried his best to be kind and inviting whenever anyone spoke to him, or even compassionate. You could tell by the smiles he'd practiced in the mirror for all the past years.

Before Sasuke could entangle himself in the dark corners of his mind any further, Naruto returned, carrying a very upset Kurama in his arms. He was yelling at the fox to calm down, and it seemed the fox was retaliating in its own way, squeaking and twitching its muzzle angrily, digging its soft paws into Naruto's cheek to push him away.

Sasuke could feel a smile coming back on from the sight, before he instinctively set it back in a straight line. As Naruto collapsed on the bed, still wrestling with Kurama, Sasuke realized that the reason he liked Naruto so much was because...Naruto could slip his fingers under the mask, lifting it off even if only a little bit. The thought made him feel strangely warm, like there was a little ray of sunshine fluttering in his chest.

"OW!" Naruto cursed and let the little red fox go, cradling his scratched cheek. "Stupid fox."

The shout jolted Sasuke back into reality. He saw Naruto sitting across from him on the bed, running his fingers lightly over a set of three scratches on his cheeks. He opened his mouth to ask if Naruto was alright, but before he could do so he felt a weight settle in his lap. Sasuke looked down to see Kurama, sitting on his haunches and preening himself.

"He likes you," Naruto noticed. "That's odd, he usually only goes near me, or occasionally Kiba. But he never lies on anyone besides me." Naruto began grinning in a very foxlike manner. "Good, you can adopt him. Now he won't be the one annoying me anymore."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, beginning to slowly stroke the fox. The deep purrs vibrating under his fingers along with the thick, soft fur felt nice.

"Er, you want me to give you two some time alone?" Naruto tried to hold back a laugh. He always knew Sasuke would be a softie, even if it was only toward animals.

But Sasuke's answer surprised Naruto. "No."

"Great!" Naruto said brightly. "I wouldn't have left anyway, it's boring without all the servants."

"I know."

"Shut up."

Sasuke could feel his mask slipping once again, but this time, he didn't bother to fix it.

"Holy mother of ramen, you're _smiling,_ teme! Is there something wrong? You really are sick!" Naruto exclaimed in horror. "What do you need? Where does it hurt? Does your nose feel dry?"

"No." As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, Sasuke couldn't close it. His lips continued to stay pulled back in a smile, showing off his perfect, white teeth. "You're just stupid and entertaining."

Naruto huffed, his concern vanishing in an instant. "You know, I never should have told you that you weren't a jackass."

"I hope you still know that you were always a dobe."

"Oh, fuck you."

For all Sasuke cared, the mask could fall off and shatter into a million pieces. At that moment, sitting and listening to Naruto and bantering back and forth with teasing insults, Sasuke couldn't be happier at the way the day turned out.

It was bliss.

* * *

**A/N: **So this was late. But I tried to make it longer :D There's just been a lot of stuff happening in my life, so I kind of lost my motivation, and it was partly because I was lazy. But fear not, because I am back and READY TO ROLL, troops. *gets out the tank*

By the by, I have mixed feelings about this chapter. I feel like this was a little bit rushed in terms of character and plot development, and I noticed I always have this weird thing of describing present-time events really shallowly, but when it comes to the character's thoughts I go all out and it's all deep and stuff, and it's not balanced. I'm not sure that I like it, what about you guys? :3 Don't be shy, you can flame at me all you want if you absolutely hate my style. Just, you know, actually tell me how to improve.

*EDIT* You guys really need to get accounts so I can respond to your darling reviews D: But I suppose I'll have to do it this way. To the lovely Miss TsubakiBlossom, thank you for your kind and motivating words, and I can only hope that I can live up to your sweet statement at the end there. Usually people tell me that they'd never want to experience a day as Sarge :P they have no idea what they're missing out on.

Ja! Sarge out, and have a good day ^_^


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I have been turning over and over in my sleep trying to think of what I should change the title to e.e I always suck at coming up with titles…:c

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Sasuke rolled over in his bed, shifting his head so it rested more comfortably in the pillow. It felt strangely cold in his room after Naruto had left, but Sasuke was still smiling at the thought of how their day had played out. They'd sat on his bed, just talking. But it was the happiest Sasuke had felt in what seemed like a lifetime, with Naruto letting his mind wander as he rambled and occasionally breaking into arguments with Sasuke. They'd skipped all their meals, and the sun had set and the clock read midnight before they knew it.

Sasuke's index and middle finger kept rubbing subconsciously at his thumb, but he stopped it once he became aware. That was something that he wished he could banish from his mind, as whenever his thoughts drifted back to it he would blush like a schoolgirl. It wasn't quite his fault though; Naruto had been talking and a few beads of blood had collected on the three scratched Kurama had given him. Sasuke had tried to tell the dobe, but he just kept on talking. Naturally, Sasuke leaned over and wiped his thumb over the scratches, smearing the blood away, but his thumb had lingered there far too long to be considered innocent. Naruto had stared, wide eyed, but Sasuke couldn't remove his thumb from the soft, bronzed skin no matter how hard he tried.

Sasuke turned over onto his back, feeling his cheeks heat. He'd been so embarrassed, to the point where Naruto started laughing at how red Sasuke turned, and he didn't bring it up again. Naruto always had a skill for dissolving awkward situations, Sasuke thought with a slight smile.

There was one thing nagging at the back of his mind, though. Sasuke put his hands under the back of his head, interlacing the fingers and letting his elbows rest on either side of his head. He thought back to the very beginning, where Naruto had told Sasuke about Sakura. When Sasuke had questioned him about how their relationship was when they were five years old, Naruto had told him that he couldn't remember. That was to be expected; even Sasuke could barely remember that early in his past. What bothered him was Naruto's reaction to not being able to remember when he was eight years old. He had looked so shaken and so frightened, something that wasn't like Naruto at all. The way Naruto described it: '_Everything past that is just a white haze.' _Not simply that he couldn't remember, it was a white haze. Perhaps he was thinking into it a little too much, but that was definitely off.

But there was something else, something else that made the nagging even stronger. Sasuke frowned in concentration. In the morning, Naruto had been red-eyed and his eyelashes were clumped, still shining with moisture. _Why was Naruto crying?_ Sasuke asked himself. He hadn't confronted the blonde about it, so as to save Naruto the embarrassment. But now that he'd remembered, he couldn't get the image out of his head. Naruto almost never cried, unless it was a matter of Sakura. But Sakura was long gone by morning, she was at the Ice Parade. Sasuke had experienced waking up with tears in his eyes when he was younger, plagued by nightmares of his mother's death. But the idea that Naruto was crying because of a mere nightmare was laughable…wasn't it?

* * *

Naruto's eyes shot open, blinking a few times. The moonlight piercing the darkness in his room shone brightly on his bed, illuminating his outstretched arm and the name etched on his lips. Naruto slowly lowered his arm and sat up after a long while, playing back his already fading dream in his head over and over. Laughter, sparkling green eyes, the faintest of freckles scattered across a tanned nose bridge, and glossy brown hair that flew behind her every time she ran towards him.

But in another instance, the dream was wiped clean from his memory, leaving behind just a faint sense of regret and a profound aching deep within Naruto's chest.

_What,_ Naruto thought as he lay back down, one tear trailing down his cheek and followed by another. _What is happening to me?_

* * *

Sasuke kept shooting worried, furtive glances at Naruto. He'd ordered the man to sit and have breakfast with him, thinking that Naruto would gladly accept. But the blonde had only nodded, barely even once, and sat down without a word. Something was definitely wrong with Naruto to have him this subdued, and Sasuke was determined to find out what it was.

He cleared his throat, preparing to speak. As he opened his mouth, he suddenly paused, frowning. What were the right words to say in this situation?

Shaking his head, he told himself that it wouldn't do to think too much about it. "Naruto…" he started, concerned at the lack of reaction from said man. "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked up from his bowl of ramen, meeting Sasuke's eyes for the first time that morning. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just a bit tired." Naruto grinned.

Sasuke frowned even deeper. Naruto had shadows under his eyes, and the grin wasn't as wide as it should have been. The blue eyes, which normally screamed with vitality and eagerness, were reduced to dull, glassy orbs with a hallow look in them. It didn't suit Naruto at all.

"Come on, dobe," Sasuke said sternly, "I know that something's up."

"I'm sorry for worrying you, _teme,_" Naruto's grip started shaking around his chopsticks, "But I am absolutely fine."

Sasuke slammed down his fork, his waffles now forgotten. "Quit being such a dobe and just tell me!" he hissed, leaning forward threatening over the table.

Naruto mirrored the action with his chopsticks, an aggressive look overcoming his face. "There is nothing wrong, I've already told you!" he half-yelled with gnashing teeth.

Sasuke stood abruptly, forcing his chair back with the back of his knees. "I _order_ you to tell me what's wrong!"

Naruto paused at that. Sasuke almost never raised his voice, and he brought up their differences in status even less. With a hiss of disgust, Naruto relaxed his tensed position as Sasuke sat back down, satisfied that Naruto was now cooperative.

"I don't know what's wrong," Naruto told him bitterly. "I think I had a nightmare or something, and I woke up crying." Naruto gritted his teeth as soon as he finished speaking; he _hated_ revealing his weaknesses, more than anything. He was on the edge of his seat, waiting for Sasuke to break down into peals of laughter at the childish abnormality of it all.

Before Sasuke could think of a reply, there was a loud melody of bell-like notes ringing through the palace, echoing slightly off the walls and ceiling. A doorbell, perhaps?

Naruto stood up, his eyes gleaming with excitement and a genuine smile on his lips. It was as if his earlier distress was completely forgotten. "They're back!"

Naruto practically threw his chair back and scrambled down the red-carpeted halls, skidding to a stop in front of the large front doors. He set his hands on the doorknobs and twisted, flinging them wide open simultaneously as a large and heavy mass flew into him, knocking Naruto to the ground.

"Naruto!" A rough voice that was unmistakably Kiba's shouted into Naruto's ear. "Did ya miss me?"

"Get out of the way!" Naruto laughed, rolling out from under the brunette as he heard the rest of the palace's inhabitants approaching.

Kiba rolled over to his feet as well, grabbing Naruto by the back of his shirt collar and dragging him back down the hall, through the dining room, and up the marble staircase. "You're coming with me!"

"Let go!" Naruto laughed, tugging at the sleeve halfheartedly.

Sasuke watched with amusement as the pair zoomed past him, climbing the stairs in a haphazard fashion as they tried to sync their steps together to avoid falling. As he had his head turned, he got the wind knocked out of him as a pair of arms snaked around his waist, tightening until Sasuke swore he heard his ribs crack.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura sang. "I've missed you so much!"

Sasuke said nothing, only shaking her off of him and straightening his shirt.

Sakura didn't seem to notice her fiancé's attempted ignorance, instead gushing on and on until her voice began registering as an annoying buzz following him as Sasuke calmly took his leave to his room.

"We had so much fun at the parade! There was so much food and so many vendor stalls, and they even had a petting zoo there for the little kids! The ice sculptures were so pretty, they looked like diamonds in the sun…"

_Does she ever shut up?_ Sasuke thought with an annoyed, but barely audible, sigh. A small part of him felt bad for treating her so coldly, as he was most likely going to spend the rest of his life with her in less than six months, but the indignant part of him that vouched for Naruto immediately shoved it away.

Sasuke put a hand on his doorknob and looked pointedly at Sakura. She didn't seem to notice, tucking a few flyaway pink strands behind her ear and still talking while gazing up at Sasuke with the utmost love and adoration. Sasuke closed his eyes and twisted, wrenching the door open so the hinges squeaked together.

"Oh!" Sakura seemed surprised, her talking ceased by the loud noise. "We're here…"

Sasuke nodded silently, avoiding her gaze.

"Well, I'll leave you alone, then…" she cast a slightly wistful glance at Sasuke's face and twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, before turning away with her head low and walking away.

Sasuke trained his eyes on her retreating back, before a brilliant idea surfaced in his head. "Wait, Sakura!" he called.

Sakura whirled around, her flowered skirt swishing around her bare legs. "Yes?" Her eyes shone with hope.

"Er…" Sasuke gestured with a sweeping motion at his open door. "Would you like to come in?" he finished awkwardly.

"I'd _love_ to!" Sakura gushed, backtracking faster than anyone in four inch heels Sasuke had ever seen.

Sasuke entered after her, shutting the door with a small click behind him as Sakura made herself at home on the bed. The sight irked Sasuke more than it should have, so he opted for pulling up a comfortable chair instead of situating himself next to her.

"How was your trip?" Sasuke asked quietly as he settled himself across from Sakura.

"Marvelous!" she smiled brightly. "And I trust that your stay was well enough?"

"Oh, it was definitely enjoyable." Sasuke smiled faintly, reducing Sakura to a blushing and giggling mess.

"Do you like it here?" she asked, encouraged by the fact that Sasuke was actually responding. "I had this room specifically picked out for you, as well as your bed." She leaned back on her elbows, lowering her eyelids and simpering at Sasuke. "It's bouncy."

Sasuke chose to ignore the blatantly suggestive display, intent on being polite and nothing more. "It's lovely here; the scenery is beautiful and the people are nice to be around." He had to hold back a grimace at the last part; clearly, there was only one person within the entire palace that was even remotely 'nice to be around.'

"Ah, and I trust that Naruto attended to you?"

"Of course, he was a pleasure."

"That's good," Sakura began sounding slightly hostile, "Usually he messes up everything he touches." The pinkette laughed, but it was far from kind.

Sasuke's plan had originally been to draw answers slowly from Sakura in the form of innocent questions, but he couldn't help himself. He was too wrapped up in the mystery of it all. "What happened between you two?"

"Huh?" Sakura looked affronted by the question. "What do you mean?"

"Something obviously happened between you two; it doesn't take a detective to figure that much out. Did Naruto do something when you were little?"

Sakura touched a hand to her forehead. "Yeah, he-he did."

"What did he do?" Sasuke knew that he was being painfully obvious, but he couldn't help it. _Take it slow and easy, _he reminded himself, repeating it over and over like a mantra.

"I don't remember."

Sasuke frowned, pausing in his thoughts. '_I don't remember.' _Now where had he heard that before?

"What's your earliest memory of Naruto?"

"Er…nine, maybe ten?"

This was all shaping up too strangely in Sasuke's head: it was like déjà vu. Naruto had said almost word for word what Sakura had just told him, and it was too much to be a coincidence. Sasuke glanced at Sakura's face. She was wide eyed, and it looked like she was barely holding back a flood of tears.

_Okay, this is getting a bit too weird. _Sasuke stopped pressing Sakura for information, instead engaging her in topics of her wedding. As soon as he mentioned it, the worry lines disappeared from her forehead and the smile returned to her lips. They talked long into the day, but Sasuke didn't remember a word of their conversation as Sakura left.

* * *

"Kiba, I think you're going a little too far with this," Naruto looked up nervously at the ceiling.

"He bit me!" Kiba brandished Naruto's lamp in his hands, getting ready to swing.

"You tried to force feed him a frog, I would do the same thing!"

"He ate it and he liked it!" Kiba argued, not willing to back down. "That bite was totally uncalled for!"

"Yeah, and so is stringing Kurama up like a piñata!" Naruto burst out exasperatedly, tugging the lamp out of Kiba's hands. "What are you going to do, maul him to death and expect candy to come out of his stomach? Where did you even _get_ the damned frog from?"

"Er, the palace grounds?" Kiba gave Kurama the evil eye as Naruto gently untied the fox, the brunette narrowing his eyes even more as Kurama hissed at him.

"I don't think he likes you anymore," Naruto commented as Kurama clambered up his arm to perch on his shoulder. "He even likes _Sasuke_ more."

"Sasuke?" Kiba's ears seemed to perk up at the new piece of information. "Since when did you two become lovers?"

"Shut it, before I throw Kurama at you," Naruto retorted tersely. "We're not even friends, really. Just…acquaintances." As if sensing Naruto's annoyance, Kurama quickly jumped off of Naruto's shoulder and hopped onto the bed.

"Yeah, I'm sure you mean that," Kiba replied sarcastically. "So!" He stepped closer to Naruto, forcing the other man to look at him. "How was your first kiss?"

"Kiba, we just talked!"

"When's the secret love affair going to start?"

"I'll admit that he's nicer than I expected, but I still don't like him!"

"Ah ah ah, you're blushing!" Kiba grinned roguishly, making Naruto turn a deeper shade of pink and duck his head. "And this is the start of a beautiful relation-OOOOOOOW!"

Naruto smirked as Kiba doubled over, clutching at his crotch. "What was that about a relationship?"

"Holy shit, dude!" Kiba swore. "Those are what I make babies with!"

"You've got no chance," Naruto snorted.

"I've got more chances than you ever will!" Kiba bantered. "What are you going to do, make little ass babies with Sasuke-" he was cut off as Naruto pounced on him, pinning Kiba to the ground and growling.

"You've got even less chance as far as getting with that Hyuuga Princess!"

Kiba rolled over, wrestling with Naruto's grip on his arms as he hissed, "She's not-"

"What was this about ass babies?"

"GAH!" Naruto and Kiba looked around wildly for the source of the voice, freezing in horror as they met the stormy eyes of Uchiha Sasuke himself.

"Uh…" Naruto said blankly. _Holy shit, we are so dead_, his inner voice screamed.

"Um…" Kiba echoed.

The tension in the room rose, with Kiba and Naruto still on top of each other on the ground and Sasuke resting his weight on one leg, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow. After what seemed like years, Naruto couldn't stand the tension anymore, and raised a hand and slapped Kiba upside the head.

"Kiba was just being stupid, no need to worry your pretty little head, Sasuke-"

"Naruto was just telling me about how he gets all hot and bothered around you," Kiba smacked Naruto's cheek.

"Kiba has no balls-"

"Naruto has no-"

"You two are both idiots," Sasuke stopped their arguing, barely suppressing a smile at the outraged expressions on both faces. "Keep it down, I can hear you all the way in my room." He turned tail and left as he finished speaking, extending a hand and flicking the light switch off.

Naruto and Kiba stayed silent in the dark until the door creaked shut behind Sasuke, and then they resumed their previous disagreement.

"What was that all about?!" Naruto hissed, punching Kiba in the head.

Kiba responded with a blow to Naruto's nose, making the blonde sneeze wildly. "_I _should be the one asking you!"

"You started it!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"I did not!"

"What are you, a kid?"

"KIBA INUZUKA, I SWEAR-"

"What the fuck are you two doing?!" There was a loud thud against the door, as if someone had thrown a heavy object at the wood.

"SORRY, SASU-CHAN!" Kiba singsonged in a high pitched voice, before Naruto shoved his fist into Kiba's mouth.

"Shut up!"

* * *

**A/N: **It's been a long time since I've written some humor xD And I have decided that I shall indeed change the title of this. So I hope you enjoyed this (rather rushed and terribly written) chapter! FUN FACT: Way back in the beginning of this story I was actually considering making Kiba have a crush on Naruto. Man, that would be fun, but I'd rather save the KibaNaru for later times ^.^ Until next time! Ciao!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **He's baaaaack!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Over the next few days, Sasuke continued to obsess over the rocky relationship between Naruto and Sakura. He'd tried to draw more information out of both of them, but he hadn't succeeded. The only thing that both would tell him was, "I don't remember." It had been bothering Sasuke and he'd even been losing sleep over it. On the bright side, Naruto was steadily getting more and more comfortable in Sasuke's presence, and when he was done with his chores he would even come to Sasuke's room on his own to ramble on about one trivial thing over the next. Sasuke, of course, pretended not to listen, but he secretly doted on the blonde's words.

And it was on the first day of Sasuke's second week staying at the palace that he decided that it was time to call in the big guns.

* * *

Sasuke stood in front of the tall, white doors. He took a deep breath and readied his words as he grasped the silver handles, feeling the biting cold of the inlaid crystal chill his fingers. With a heavy sigh, he pushed down until the doors clicked open.

"Your majesty." He closed the doors behind him, bowing his head respectfully.

"What is it?" Mebuki's rather cranky voice reached his ears. "I'm a bit busy at the moment."

Sasuke raised his head, noting that the room was not what he was expecting at all. He'd expected a grand, tall room with gold chandeliers and a red carpet leading to a throne that was at least twice as tall as he was and lined with velvet the color of wine. Instead, the room was kept simple, with only a purple rug, one silver chandelier, and two desks placed in front of a fireplace that was crackling merrily despite the fact that the weather was already beginning to warm. Mebuki was bent over one of the desks, scribbling busily with a fountain pen at a mountain of papers in front of her.

"Er," Sasuke started, clearing his throat and clasping his hands behind his back. "I'd like to make a request."

Mebuki finally looked up. "Oh, Sasuke!" She smiled, tucking a few strands of her bronzed hair behind her ear. "Welcome to my office, and I'm sorry that it's in such a clutter at the moment."

"It's perfectly fine, it looks lovely either way," Sasuke inclined his head graciously.

Mebuki laughed, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "You can drop that silly, formal attitude now, Sasuke. You're as stiff as a board."

Sasuke's lips twitched upward, and he relaxed his shoulders. "My apologies."

"So!" Mebuki stretched, leaning back into her chair. "What request would you like to make?"

"I was wondering if I could invite a guest over to stay for a few weeks. He's volunteered to be our receptionist for the wedding, and he's also agreed to make the invitations. Of course, I'll make all the necessary preparations for his stay myself, but he's asked for permission to access the palace archives to learn who to invite."

The phone rang before Mebuki could answer, the obnoxious noise practically rattling the windows. Mebuki picked it up quickly, answering in a pleasant voice, "This is Mebuki speaking, how may I help you?"

The words reminded Sasuke of a chirpy saleswoman or a consultant, but he waited patiently for her to finish the call.

Mebuki covered the speaker with a hand and looked at Sasuke. "Of course he can stay, but you'll need to find Kiba for the archive access since our usual archivist is on vacation with his family."

Sasuke smiled and nodded his thanks, turning and exiting the room silently.

Once he was safely out of hearing range of anyone in the castle, he slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and tapped at the screen of the sleek, black device a few times, holding it up to his ear as he waited for someone to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"I got permission. I trust you'll be on your way soon?"

There was a sinister chuckle at the other end of the line. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the extravagant antics, annoyed and exasperated. "_Of course, my darling little brother. I'll be there tonight."_

There was a click as they hung up, and Sasuke pocketed the phone once more as he set off in search of Naruto's best friend.

He walked quickly through hall after hall, searching all the wings thoroughly. The place was filled with servants, all of whom bowed as he passed and righted themselves with cheerful smiles and waves as he went by. The twists and turns were beginning to make him feel disoriented , and he was feeling like he was on a wild goose chase before he crashed into someone, knocking them to the floor.

"What the hell," Naruto complained, rubbing at his tailbone. "Sasuke, you do this to me so much that I'm beginning to think that you just like making me fall over."

"No, not at all," Sasuke countered quickly, before cutting to the chase. "Where's your friend, the one with the brown hair and the tattoos on his cheeks?"

"Kiba?" Naruto asked, looking a bit concerned at Sasuke's franticness.

"Speaking." A large hand wrapped around Naruto's arm, pulling him off the ground. Naruto brushed himself off, uttered a quick, "thanks," to Kiba, and gave a little salute to the brunette before rushing off.

"So," Kiba directed his words at Sasuke now, stepping closer to him. "What did you want with me?"

Sasuke noticed a slightly hostile feel coming from him, and the way that Kiba was tall enough to look him in the eye was slightly unnerving. Nevertheless, Sasuke _never_ lost his composure.

"Orders from the Queen," Sasuke drawled almost lazily, "We need you for our archivist."

"What for?" Kiba narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"We'll explain later tonight. Just be ready for it."

Kiba watched Sasuke stalk off, his eyebrow twitching at the cryptic answer and a sinking feeling in his gut. Why did he feel like this was a bad idea?

Sasuke lay on his bed, staring up at the canopy and glancing at the clock on his bedside table occasionally. He'd opted out of having dinner with Sakura and her family, and now he was getting very bored and very irritated.

_It's already almost eight, _he thought with annoyance. _Where is he?_

Sasuke pulled out his phone, checking for messages and missed calls. He sighed when he found that there were none and rolled over onto his stomach.

_Of course he's late on the one time I want him to be on time, _Sasuke closed his eyes and drew up his arms underneath the pillow for his head to rest on. _He's the one with the perfect, impeccable reputation, and yet he's the one that took the easy way out. Now I'm stuck with all this, and he gets to do whatever the hell he wants to. _

Sasuke's eyes snapped open as the familiar chiming of the doorbell hit his ears, a slight thud outside of his door and the excited yell of, "I'll get it!" telling him that Naruto would be racing down the stairs and flinging the doors open wide.

Sasuke smiled a bit at the mental image of the happy blonde and dragged himself off the comfortable bed, straightening his clothes and waiting patiently for Naruto to return with the guest.

It only took a few minutes for Naruto to return, talking with the guest as if he'd known him all his life. Naruto raised a fist and knocked solidly three times, cuing Sasuke to open the door.

"Yo, Sasuke!" Naruto grinned. "This guy here was asking for you! Why didn't you ever tell me you had a brother?"

"Really, Sasuke," the tall man standing beside Naruto had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, half his face hidden by the tall collar of his cloak, "Do you think that little of me?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Thanks for bringing him up, Naruto."

"Aye aye, sir!" Naruto gave a little wave and returned to his own room.

Sasuke turned back to his brother and dragged him by the arm into the room, slamming the door as he got his first real look at his older brother in years.

Uchiha Itachi, the first son of Fugaku and Mikoto. Had he not run from his fate, Itachi would probably be the one in Sasuke's place, he would be the one marrying Sakura. Sasuke doubted that Sakura would care whether she was marrying either one of the brothers; she was the kind of person who went only by looks, and Itachi's beauty was just as much as Sasuke's if not more.

"How have you been, little one?" Itachi asked, plopping down onto Sasuke's bed after discarding his cloak to the side.

"What do you think?" Sasuke exclaimed, throwing his arms open wide. "Stuck in this damn palace, marrying a girl that I don't want to!"

"If the problem is with your relationship, then I'm afraid-"

"Don't play coy with me, Itachi!" Sasuke interrupted scathingly. "You ran away, you brought this all onto me! What happened to 'I will always love you?!'"

Itachi was silent, motioning at Sasuke to sit next to him. Sasuke sighed heavily through his nose and made his way over, sitting beside Itachi in silence.

Minutes ticked by. "…I'm sorry," Sasuke apologized after a while. "That was childish of me."

Itachi rested a hand atop Sasuke's head, ruffling his hair. "No, it's true, and you have no idea how much I regret doing so."

Sasuke laughed a little. "Yes I do. You don't regret it at all," he joked, and Itachi's tense features relaxed at that. "How are things going at the police station?"

"Absolutely wonderful. Dealing with druggies, drunks, and stupid little fuckers day in and day out," Itachi smirked. "It's been a long time since I've had a real case."

Though Sasuke still aimed his jealousy at his brother at times, he was still pleased that Itachi was happy with the life he'd chosen. Itachi had always taken up cases that called for a detective when the police department was short of them, and Sasuke and his entire family knew that Itachi was damn good at solving the mysteries, though Fugaku highly disapproved. Itachi hadn't failed a case once in his lifetime, and he'd managed to solve all of them in an astounding time frame. When Itachi was eighteen, he'd escaped his duties and his parents and ran off to the police department to take up a full time job as their head detective. Fugaku had been furious, and he was close to disowning Itachi until Sasuke pleaded with him not to. Itachi had slowly risen up the ranks until he was the head chief of the police, a remarkable achievement for someone of his age.

"Well, now you've got one." Sasuke leaned back onto his elbows. "There's something weird about Sakura and Naruto."

"Naruto? Was he the adorable little blonde that you're-"

"No! I mean, yes!" Sasuke wrinkled his nose as his brother burst into laughter. "That's not the point! I just need you to look into their histories and find out what happened that made them hate each other so much!"

"Sounds easy enough. And you say that both of them don't remember anything from their past?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…" Itachi hummed thoughtfully. "That's certainly strange."

"Think you can solve it?"

"Well, the lack of background information might hinder things a bit, but I think I can solve it as long as I can use the archives."

"Don't worry, I've got that covered."

"And where will I be staying?"

"Uh…" Sasuke cursed. He'd completely forgotten about that part.

Sasuke jumped off the bed and opened his door a crack, calling out Naruto's name into the hall. Naruto emerged from his room seconds later, wearing nothing but black sweatpants while toweling his hair dry.

"Yeah?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Are there any other empty rooms on this floor that Itachi could use?"

"Uh…" Naruto looked right and left. "I don't think so. He could use my room, though."

"That would be simply _splendid!" _Itachi called over Sasuke's shoulder. "But where will you stay, then?"

Naruto grinned. "I could always stay with Ki-"

"He'll stay with me," Sasuke interrupted. It wasn't like he _wanted_ Naruto to stay in his room, not at all. Sasuke simply wanted to observe the blonde. Grabbing Naruto's arm, Sasuke opened the door wider and dragged him inside, while Itachi danced out of his way with a knowing smirk.

"Have fun with him, Sasuke," he teased before thanking Naruto once more and disappearing behind the blonde's door.

Naruto gaped in disbelief after him. "You bastard!" he exploded, turning red and rounding on Sasuke. "Why do I have to stay _here?! _I would have been perfectly fine on my own! I want my room back, why don't you share with Itachi?!" he yelled.

"Itachi snores," Sasuke replied, avoiding Naruto's first question.

Naruto didn't pursue anymore answers, much to Sasuke's relief. He contented himself with grumbling and stomping about, pulling sheets from the closet. "Where do I sleep?" he snarled.

"Er…" As much as Sasuke hated the idea of sleeping with another person, even if it _was_ Naruto, he didn't want to force the man to sleep uncomfortably, especially seeing as it was Sasuke that offered to house Naruto. "The bed."

Naruto looked up in surprise. "Then where are you going to sleep?"

Sasuke was silent, looking around the room for an answer to Naruto's question.

Naruto sighed out of his nose and grabbed an extra pillow from the closet as well, throwing them onto the bed. "You see this pillow?" he pointed and propped it up in between Sasuke's pillow and Naruto's. "No one crosses that pillow. _No one." _

Sasuke snorted and climbed into the bed after Naruto. "Deal."

"Fine!" Naruto shouted, still fuming at the circumstances.

"Fine." Sasuke repeated, smirking.

"Turn off the damn lights!" Naruto's veins began standing out on his forehead from his anger at Sasuke's lack of reaction.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood, walking languidly over in long strides and flicking the lights shut. Before he could shut his own door completely, a dark red streak ran into the room and hopped onto the bed.

Naruto glared at the fox's dilated pupils, seeing the fox grin stretched across his pointy little teeth. "Damn fox," he muttered as the door clicked shut softly and the mattress was weighted with Sasuke once more. "You're happy about this whole situation, aren't you?"

Kurama only wagged his tail once before curling up onto Naruto's chest, but with the grin he still wore, he might as well have been welcoming Naruto to hell.

* * *

**A/N: **Shitty chapter, I know. And it was late. Because I am still sick. I really really hope to get back to regular updates, but I can't make any promises. But with that said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and review please :3 Until next time! Sarge out!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: ***warms fingers around cup of tea* I'm trying to be fast, I swear T.T

**Warning: **OOC Itachi. As he is in all my stories. As well as a highly profane Kiba. Again, as he is in all my stories.

**Disclaimer: **Haven't put one of these up in a long time, eh? Well, you should probably know, I OWN ALL THE NARUTO FRANCHISE.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Naruto stirred in his sleep, his hand reaching out and seeking the warmth of the blankets that he'd kicked off. He didn't want to open his eyes, as he was so comfortable. As he found the blanket and pulled it over his upper body, Naruto let out a small sigh as his nostrils were greeted with the warm, inviting smell of-

"SASUKE?!" Naruto's eyes opened wide and his head shot up, immediately colliding with something hard. Naruto looked around himself in confusion, blinking off his drowsiness. "Why the hell are you in my room, you damn rapist?!" Naruto was severely panicking, scrambling away as he found himself spooned in the length of Sasuke's body, and he consequentially fell off the bed with a loud thud.

"You damn usuratonkachi," Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth, rubbing at the rapidly darkening spot under his chin where Naruto's head had hit. "Can't you be normal for _one damn day?!" _

"I would be, you bastard, if I hadn't woken up to you practically _molesting _me!" Naruto yowled, standing back up and pointing dramatically at Sasuke.

"First of all, you're in my room, dobe," Sasuke said in a dark, murderous tone, "And second of all, _you_ are the one who crossed the pillow!" Sasuke gestured in turn to the imprint left beside him from Naruto's body.

"What do you mean, _I _crossed the pillow?!" Naruto yelled, staring pointedly at the bed. "You're clearly-" his voice trailed off as he noticed that Sasuke had been pushed to the very edge of the bed, and the imprint of his body was well past the line of the pillow. Naruto's side looked untouched, whereas Sasuke's was a rumpled mess of sheets. "Oh."

Sasuke groaned and fell back, laying an arm over his eyes. "What did I do to get such a dumbass as my servant?"

Naruto bristled. "Hey, you were the one that _chose _me. You could have had one of the normal ones, like Kiba-"

"Che, Kiba's hardly normal."

"Or Tsume, or Hana, but NO!" Naruto threw his arms wide, a slightly crazed look coming into his eyes. "You chose _me,_ for some absolutely UNGODLY reason!" Naruto panted as he finished, looking wide-eyed at Sasuke's sprawled form.

Sasuke shifted his arm long enough to glance at Naruto's red face. "You're a dobe." With that, he covered his obsidian eyes once more.

Naruto fell flat on his back. "You-you…" Naruto couldn't conjure up a word foul enough to describe Sasuke. He moaned in despair, closing his eyes and willing that the floor would open wide and swallow him. "I think I bruised my face."

"If only you bruised your mouth, then maybe you wouldn't be so damn loud." Sasuke's voice was muffled, and Naruto could see from the periphery of his vision how ruffled Sasuke looked.

After a long silence, Naruto sat up spoke again. "Look, I'm sorry. I probably should have told you that I get kind of cuddly when I sleep in close proximity with someone else." He kicked his legs open wider, staring at the patch of carpet in between them and waiting for a response.

"Get back in here and go to sleep." Sasuke rumbled after a while, his voice still sleepy. "It's barely sunrise."

"Heh." Naruto stood, stretching leisurely in his pajamas before climbing back into bed, being careful to stay on his own side. "I would have thought that you were a morning person, teme." Naruto rolled over so he could see Sasuke's face. He hated talking to people that weren't in his line of sight; he never knew if they were listening or not.

"Not today," Sasuke murmured.

Naruto's eyes followed the graceful hallows of Sasuke's cheeks down to the prominent line of his jawbone. He found himself fascinated by how the pale skin stretched over the frame the bones provided. "Oh," Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that bruise on your chin."

Sasuke gave no response to that, but Naruto didn't mind. No more words were spoken between them as they silently drifted back to sleep.

* * *

"LITTLE BROTHER!"

Sasuke shot upright at the sound of Itachi's singsong voice, cursing as his eyes met the blinding sunlight flooding through his room. "What time is it…?"

"It's already noon!" Itachi smiled, striding over and ripping the sheets off Sasuke. "Come on, Kibby and I need your help!"

"_Itachi!" _Sasuke heard Kiba yell from somewhere outside of his door. "_How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, damn weasel?!" _

Sasuke glanced at the clock: 12:41 PM. He wanted nothing more than to collapse back into the warmth of the sheets. "What for?"

"Naruto-kun, of course! He's gone off to his chores; it's the _perfect_ time to delve without permission into his past, his records, and everything about him!"

Sasuke groaned. "Don't phrase it like that."

"But you know it's true! So rise and shine!"

Sasuke slid out of the bed and began changing, grumbling all the while as Itachi waited. "How the hell did someone as ridiculous as _you_ become the head chief? You're almost as bad as that dobe."

"They all love me there, whereas you always have that personal storm cloud hanging above your head that frightens everyone away."

Sasuke was about to argue that it wasn't true, that there _was_ someone who bothered to be his friend, but the image of the bright blonde would only give further information for Itachi to tease Sasuke about. "Why do you need me there?" he asked as he pulled on a shirt. It smelled like fresh lavender, and he made a mental note to thank Naruto for doing his laundry, if he could ever summon the courage.

"He's probably told you things that he would never tell me, given that he says you're close friends."

"Close friends? Psh, hardly," Sasuke scoffed, but he couldn't repress the spark of hope in his chest at the words.

"Whatever you say then, Sasuke," Itachi replied enigmatically. "Ready? Come on, Kiba-chan's giving us a tour."

"I can see that you two are hitting it off very well," Sasuke observed as they exited his room to meet the red-faced, fuming servant.

"Yeah, right!" Kiba was so angry that a bit of his naturally rough speech was slipping through the formal language he usually used, garbling his words in a slight accent. "Are you deaf, you damn bastard?! And here I thought that no one could get any worse than old prissy-face Sasuke, but then _you_ show up! Compared to _you_, Sasuke's a fucking angel on wings, ya damn fucker!"

"Yes, yes," Itachi interrupted pleasantly, cutting through Kiba's tirade. "Please, dear Kibby, just show us around."

Sasuke could practically hear the steam whistling out from Kiba's ears. He'd half expected the man to explode with anger, but instead, Kiba seemed to deflate and collapse, heaving a great and airy sigh.

"This way," he motioned with a monotone.

Itachi seemed satisfied enough (though Sasuke was convinced that his brother was basking in the sadistic glory of being able to break Kiba), and he set off after Kiba in long strides as Sasuke trailed behind them.

"I thought that you would have already been toured by now," Kiba stated flatly. "Didn't Naruto give you one last night?"

"Oh yes, he did!" Itachi said cheerfully. "But I want to recheck a few certain rooms."

Kiba blew a gust of air out, angling it so that it ruffled his spiky bangs. "And those rooms would be…?" he quipped.

"Any rooms with family portraits, family trees, photo albums, nurseries, old childrens' playthings, the like."

"That's pretty much every room in this entire place!" Kiba's shoulders drooped even more at the thought of having to chaperone the elder Uchiha through the large palace.

"Better get started, then!"

Kiba looked almost wistfully at Sasuke, who had stayed silent through their whole exchange. "Man, makes you really appreciate the good things in life, eh?"

* * *

Naruto had barely gotten any more sleep after rousing Sasuke and himself. He'd slept for a little while longer, half an hour at most, and then he'd readied himself for his chores. Naruto, as the rest of the servants and maids in the castle knew, was a very efficient and hardworking young man even if his ruffled appearance told otherwise. He'd get his chores done thoroughly but quickly, always making sure he had plenty of free time in the afternoon, and that was what made him so popular with the rest of the castle; Naruto's free time consisted largely of helping others with their chores in hopes that when they were finished, they could enjoy the rest of the day doing what they wanted. Usually, that meant hanging around Naruto if he wasn't bothering the royal cooks for food.

He'd been working from dawn until midday, taking only a short lunch break before returning to his tasks. It seemed like a tight and busy schedule, but the end was always worth it. He now stretched his back and the length of his body, groaning in content as he finished, throwing the red curtains apart and letting the early spring sunshine fill the hallways. He wiped his hands on a towel, dampened from cleaning out multiple sinks, and strolled leisurely through the hallways with no particular destination in mind.

"Hey," he winked at anyone who crossed his path, making them smile, laugh, and even high-five him. His fellow peers always made time for Naruto, whether it be for a chance to talk or just for a silly joke, or even just a need for a hug. It was part of why he found his job so enjoyable: in the castle, it seemed like everyone was his family, making up for the one he'd lost.

But on such a sunny day, with the castle bustling with cheer, he refused to think about the dark matter. It was in the past, and Naruto was determined to keep it that way. Instead, he brought a smile to his face and knelt down next to a servant who was busily straightening and dusting a large tapestry, offering his hand to help.

* * *

"Where else do you want to go?" Kiba asked, visibly happier now that Itachi had stopped his teasing remarks.

Itachi was deep in thought, unaware that Sasuke had his eyes fixated on his face for any clues of what he might be thinking. Everything that Kiba had shown them had been normal, but unusual at the same time. Their family photo albums had led Itachi through the lives of royalty, but with odd breaks and hitches throughout the path. He would find a smiling, younger Sakura, only to flip to the next page to see a Sakura that was matured, bearing a wearier smile. It was like there were pictures taken out, as if there was something that the King and Queen wanted forgotten. Itachi knew he was thinking too deeply into the subject, but it wouldn't leave him alone.

"Is the nursery still intact?" he asked.

"Well, there is a room where we keep all of Sakura's old things, but I don't think the nursery is still there."

"Take us to the room," Itachi decided.

Kiba huffed at the command. "You'd better thank me after this."

He sped up his walk a bit, leading Itachi and Sasuke through to the right wing and into passages that looked dustier and less used. Kiba rounded a corner and went up a short flight of stairs before stopping before a door, isolated from any others around it.

"Here it is. Mind you," he warned, "It might be a bit dusty in there." Kiba opened the door and stepped aside, allowing the brothers to enter.

Sasuke's eyes flicked to one object to the next, trying to find anything at all that hinted at Naruto's past. The room was filled with toys cluttering the floor, old shelves with cracked paint, pillows and playpens that were greyed with dust, and a bed in the far corner. There was nothing at all that was unusual.

"Itachi?" he asked, curious about his brother's judgment.

"…Right." Itachi's eyes were fixed on the corner of the room that housed the bed, a vanity, and other cabinets. Sasuke frowned at the faraway look in his usually bright and alert eyes. "I think I might know what's going on here."

"Huh?" Sasuke followed his gaze, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. "What do you think of it?"

Itachi shook his head and turned away, pushing the door open so he could exit. "I'm not too sure at the moment, there's not enough evidence. Have we scoured all the rooms yet?" he directed toward Kiba.

"I think so," Kiba replied. "There really isn't anywhere else we keep mementos, I think the only place left to look are the archives."

Itachi nodded and let the door go, the heavy wood swinging shut and smashing Sasuke in the face as he was trying to follow. "I think that's where we're going next, then."

* * *

**A/N: **Well wasn't that an anticlimactic ending. Oh well, I swear that I'm trying to speed things up here, but school has really been taking a toll on me. I hope to have the next chapter ready for you guys tomorrow, but I can't make any promises. Ja!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **It finally snowed around my area! *cheers*Also this is more like a filler chapter, but I guess there's a smidgen of character development if you squint.

**Disclaimer: **I have laid my claim on Kiba. He's mine now.

**Warnings: **Alright, so in this story, Sasuke shan't be the stereotypical cold bastard he is in every other story. That's going to become clear in this chapter, when he becomes rather OOC.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Ugh," Kiba groaned as he flicked on the light switch, the lights flickering for a split second before alighting the room filled with shelves, cabinets, and crates all filled to the brim with records and other papers. "What did you say you needed?" he called over his shoulder at Itachi, who was seated at the archivist's desk.

"Let's start with the obvious: the royal family's records." Itachi replied. "And Sasuke, you need to go to bed. It's late."

"But I want to stay," Sasuke protested. "What if you find something-"

"If I find something, then I'll tell you first thing in the morning. Now go away, Naruto's probably wondering where you are."

Sasuke scowled, but heeded his brother's words and left Kiba and Itachi alone.

"Hey, why is _he _allowed to sleep?" Kiba complained, poking his head out from the storage room. "I've been the one doing all the work today-"

"Kibby-chan, just get me the papers and you can go as well," Itachi droned, rubbing his temples tiredly.

Kiba huffed, but did what he was told. Rummaging through countless drawers and riffling through the papers, it didn't take too long to locate the folder labeled, "Haruno Family." He pulled it out and opened to check that there really were papers in there, before closing it once more with a satisfied hum and returning to Itachi.

"Here ya go," he tossed the papers flat onto the desk before Itachi, some of the papers spilling out. "Can I leave now?"

Itachi stared at Kiba for a moment with eyes hooded in a glare, as if Kiba were the biggest idiot he'd ever seen. Itachi lifted the folder, straightening the papers, and promptly smacked Kiba across the face with it.

"Ow! Hey!" Kiba yelped. "Those are very important documents!"

"Says the one that throws them at me," Itachi reprimanded.

Kiba held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine," he replied as he exited after Sasuke, leaving Itachi alone to study the documents.

Itachi opened the folder, groaning at the blocks of small black text before him. Skimming his eyes along the pages, he slowly flipped through the thick folder until he found the page he was looking for.

"Haruno Mebuki, Haruno Kizashi," the Uchiha muttered to himself. "Only child: Haruno Sakura." He sighed. That information told him absolutely nothing that he didn't know already. He turned a few more pages, searching for any leads, but found none. Itachi almost shut the file before something caught his eye.

All the other documents, were all yellowed and wrinkled, as if they were old and not very well preserved. Mebuki's and Kizashi's, however, was practically pristine. Itachi thumbed the sides of the page, reading it in further detail. There, at the bottom of the page in tiny, faint text, were the words, "Last modified: Dec…" the rest was too faint to make out. Itachi carefully slid the paper out of its confines and held it up to the light.

The words were still difficult to read, but they were more easily read in the bright light of the archives. Itachi deciphered the faded ink slowly until he reached the end of the sentence, humming with triumph. The document stated that it had been modified quite recently for a paper of its type: nine years previously. Itachi made a mental note to ask Sasuke if the number held any significance to him or not.

Itachi leaned back in his seat, taxed of his energy from the offensive amount of reading for the past hour and a half. His work was far from done, but being the number one detective in the country, he had a name to live up to. He shook his exhaustion off and began examining the documents one by one once more.

* * *

Naruto groaned in his sleep, panting and shivering. The noise he was hearing in his head was unbearably loud, an awful screeching and squealing as two pairs of lights that looked like sinister eyes stared him down, only serving to add to the pounding ache in his head. He tossed and turned, trying to will the noises to stop. His pants turned into gasps and his forehead broke out into a cold sweat, his eyes dancing beneath his eyelids.

The tossing and turning woke Sasuke, who was a light sleeper to say the least. He turned over, ready to reprimand the dobe, but stopped as soon as he saw the panicked state Naruto was in. "Hey," Sasuke whispered, laying a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto shook it off, rolling over again and curling into a ball. "Hey," Sasuke spoke more firmly, shaking Naruto. "Dobe, wake up." Naruto only began shivering even more violently. "Dobe!" Sasuke shouted, rolling the man over.

Naruto's eyes opened wide, terrified and confused and filling with tears almost immediately. "Sakura-chan?" he whispered, searching in the darkness.

"It's me," Sasuke identified himself. "Are you-what's wrong?"

Naruto pushed himself up with an arm, turning his body slightly to sit against the headboard of the bed. He drew his knees up to his chest like a child would, encircling them with his arms and dropping his head into the cradle. "Bad dream," he whispered, sounding ashamed of himself.

Sasuke mimicked the position, sitting up and reaching over cautiously past their boundary of pillows. He set his hand on the back of Naruto's neck, not sure how to comfort him, but making an effort nonetheless. Naruto started a bit at the cool fingers brushing against his nape, but said nothing.

"What was it about?" Sasuke asked, beginning to feel slightly awkward with his hand just sitting on Naruto's neck.

"I don't know," Naruto sighed, tilting his head back and letting his legs fall flat to the bed. "I've been waking up more and more like in the past few weeks."

Sasuke scooted a bit closer, throwing the pillow aside that made their boundary. He put his arm around Naruto's shoulders, afraid that Naruto would call Sasuke crazy and throw it off. He stayed quiet though, and it may have been Sasuke's imagination, but he thought Naruto leaned into his touch.

"Are you feeling alright now?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Naruto passed a hand over his face. "Cold."

Sasuke paused for a moment, searching for the right response. "If you're cold, uh…" What were the right words? He knew that he was practically asking Naruto to cuddle him, but Sasuke felt that letting Naruto suffer in discomfort throughout the rest of the night would have been just as bad if not worse. "You can come over to my side of the bed."

Naruto felt his cheeks heat at the implication, but knew that Sasuke meant well. In fact, in any other circumstances, Naruto would have laughed and called Sasuke a "softie." Right now, though, he was incredibly grateful for Sasuke's offer.

Sasuke lay back down at feeling Naruto's neck muscles tense as he nodded, throwing the covers aside for Naruto to climb in and tucking them back around him. Naruto snuggled as close as possible to the other man without touching him, sharing his warmth and turning over so his back was to Sasuke.

As they both drifted off to sleep, Sasuke heard a, "Thank you," that sounded much too soft to be said by the loudmouthed blonde. Sasuke smiled, but both were asleep before Sasuke could even make a sound, sleeping side by side but not necessarily together.

* * *

Sasuke was now fully convinced that nothing, absolutely nothing, could dampen Naruto's mood. In the morning, Sasuke had woken up to an empty bed, only to realize a second later that Naruto was on the floor laughing his ass off. Sasuke had no idea why the idea of falling off the bed was so hilarious, but the giggles continued all the way through the breakfast they'd eaten together. It wasn't until Naruto had waved goodbye to do his chores that Sasuke had gotten any reprieve.

Then again, on that particular day, Sasuke didn't have anything to do. Itachi had asked not to be bothered and disappeared into the confines of his room, he'd been avoiding Sakura at all costs, but over the past couple of days she had also locked herself in her room with her parents, planning the wedding almost obsessively and coming out only for food and drink. The servants all avoided eye contact with him, and all in all, there was simply nothing that Sasuke could find to entertain himself.

Sasuke decided to head over to the kitchens, as he was getting hungry. Before he even opened the door, he could hear the clanging of pots, strings of curse words, and running water inside. As he pushed open the door, he saw Naruto skittishly jumping from one pot to the other on the stove, flushed with exertion.

"Oh, hey, teme," Naruto looked up briefly to greet Sasuke. In the short time that he left the pot unattended, whatever mess he was cooking caught fire inside, making Naruto yelp and smash a lid over the pot.

Sasuke watched the blonde helplessly flail as he tried to get everything under hand for a few minutes, before grabbing the spatula from Naruto's hand and playfully whacking him with it, smearing the blue jam all over Naruto's golden hair.

"Hey!" Naruto protested, hands automatically reaching to the spot on his head.

"You're burning everything," Sasuke smirked. "You can't possibly do it alone, so I'll help."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, making fruitless grabs for the spatula. "You're the prince! You can't do this, imagine what people will think of you! Not to mention what'll happen to me for letting you-"

"What happens in the kitchen stays in the kitchen," Sasuke countered, making Naruto growl in anger and cross his arms across his chest, looking away.

Sasuke gave a faint, barely audible laugh at the pout Naruto now sported. "You've got a bit of something on your cheek, dumb dobe," he said, swiping the pad of his thumb across the raised whiskers on Naruto's face to get the white powder off. "Come on, I'll teach you."

Naruto grumbled threats under his breath, glowering in the opposite direction, but he followed Sasuke nonetheless.

"What's this supposed to be?" Sasuke asked, waving the spatula at the charred, blackened lumps on the pan.

"Uh…" Naruto paused, scratching his head. "I think it's steak."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and lifted the pan off the stove and dumped all of its contents into the trash. "And this?" he asked, pointing into the pot that had recently been on fire.

"Um…some sort of soup, I think."

"How on earth do you catch soup on fire?" Sasuke asked incredulously, lifting it and doing the exact same thing as he did with the pan.

"Hey, don't ask me," Naruto shrugged. "I defy the laws of physics wherever I go."

"It's probably your big head unbalancing the force of gravity wherever you go," Sasuke retorted. "Alright, get all the ingredients out for the soup."

"Again?" Naruto wailed.

"Unless you want to eat out of the trash can tonight, yes," Sasuke grabbed the recipe that was strewn about the counter. "You should also get out the steak so it can thaw while we make the soup."

"A real bossy prick, aren't you?" Naruto replied scathingly, but he did as he was asked, opening the refrigerator and rummaging through its contents.

Sasuke twirled the spatula between his fingers, running his eyes down the list of ingredients and instructions. Whoever trusted a set of orders this complicated to Naruto evidently didn't know what they were getting into.

"Owww," Naruto moaned as his head struck the cabinets above him. "This is why I opt for ramen whenever I can."

"It's bad for you, it doesn't have any nutrients." Sasuke grabbed the ingredients from Naruto's arms, setting them on the counter. "Now, use your eyes," he pointed at the recipe, "And _read._"

"What do you think I've been doing for the past three hours?!" Naruto exclaimed, affronted.

"Don't ask me, you did, after all, set the soup on fire."

"You're never going to let me forget this, are you?" Naruto sighed.

"Nope."

"Oh, fuck you."

* * *

"Still hate me?" Sasuke asked, brushing off his hands as he stared approvingly at the dishes they had made together.

"Mmm," Naruto hummed as he leaned in to smell all the different plates. "Yes, but not as much."

Sasuke turned and grabbed two forks, two knives, and two plates from the stack of cleaned silverware. "Bon appetit," he told Naruto, handing him one of each item.

"Who knew you could cook so well?" Naruto asked, his eyes still fixated on the food.

"You made them, I only led you through the steps."

"It's not wise to feed my already huge ego."

Sasuke piled his plate with food, leaning back against his counter and eating it slowly. "In my opinion, you don't get praised enough."

As soon as he said it, he wanted to sew his mouth shut. That would _definitely_ not go unnoticed by Naruto.

"Uh, thanks." Naruto scratched the back of his head, a habit Sasuke had noticed him falling into whenever he was shy, confused, or receiving compliments, but the wide grin was still on his face. "It looks so good," Naruto drooled, leaning on the counter next to Sasuke.

"Enjoy," Sasuke nudged Naruto's arm with his elbow.

"Believe me, I will," Naruto replied, unconsciously edging closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke watched Naruto eat for a split second before looking away, feeling the uncanny urge to smile even though his stomach was swirling with butterflies looking for an escape.

* * *

**A/N: **Yay, it's out earlier! ^.^ Apologies if this chapter seemed a bit choppy and poorly written, I was in a bit of a rush when I was editing and writing and all that. Just one more week till break for me, and then I'll be writing like crazy to keep you guys happy and updated. Ciao! -Sarge

Edit: Made a couple of changes where there were errors :DD


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Happy Valentine's day! Though by the time this's up, it'll probably be over D: Hope you all had a wonderful day, and if you don't have a Valentine, don't worry, Naruto's as good as any other guy ;3 *throws chocolate at everyone*

**Disclaimer: **Seriously, he didn't even give me Kiba for V-Day.

**Warnings: **Swearing, awkward time jumping, and the bitch is back.

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Sasuke yawned as he made his way down the stairs, running his fingers through the tousled spikes on the back of his head and not even bothering to tuck his shirt in. He'd spent the entire night in the archives with Itachi, relaying all that they knew to each other about Naruto and Sakura. They were getting increasingly desperate for answers; Sasuke was already nearing the end of his fourth month at the palace. In two more months, Sakura and Sasuke would be getting married, and then there would be no time to resolve the mystery. He'd gotten less than four hours of sleep, making it one of the few mornings where Naruto woke earlier than Sasuke.

As he stepped off the last step of the marble, he heard a faint crash followed by very loud yelling as well as a low, continuous murmur of what Sasuke could make out as apologies. Being extremely careful not to make any noise, he followed the sound until he turned the corner and witnessed the scene, ducking back and poking his head out to watch.

"You _filthy_ animal!" Sakura was screaming, her lavender dress sporting a deeper purple stain down the long skirt. "For once in your life, quit being so infuriatingly inept!"

"I'm sorry," Naruto apologized in a voice barely above a whisper, kneeling down before Sakura with his hands on his knees and his head ducked.

"You're sorry?!" Sakura bent and slapped Naruto, making the young man's head snap sharply to the right. Sasuke's fist clenched. "When has saying that you're _sorry_ ever changed anything?"

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I'll clean your dress right away," Naruto whispered miserably, not daring to look Sakura in the eye.

"Don't even say my name, you worthless brat," Sakura hissed furiously, sneering. "I don't know what my parents are thinking, letting a slave like you even touch their possessions-"

Sasuke's entire body was trembling with rage, mentally urging Naruto to stand up and punch Sakura across the room, to slap her back, to do anything from allowing the pink-haired monster to continue dragging him lower.

"I expect this dress absolutely spotless when I get it back," Sasuke heard Sakura say faintly before he heard her heels clicking on the floor, growing more and more distant. Sasuke exhaled a shaky breath, appalled at what he had heard. He stepped out from behind the wall, quickly heading over to Naruto.

Naruto was shaking as well when Sasuke crouched down next to him, clenching his slender fingers into a fist. Though they were even closer than Sasuke had dared to even think about, he was uncomfortable with the thought of putting his arm around Naruto even though he desperately wanted to.

"Hey," he began.

Naruto turned his face slightly to Sasuke, and he was glad to see that the blue eyes were dry, albeit pained. After a long pause, Naruto finally spoke: "Hey."

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, noticing the dark burgundy wine and the sharp glass shards coloring the floor.

Naruto let out a small sigh, sinking down lower to the ground and beginning to gather the shards up slowly with one hand, setting them back on the silver tray. "Nothing."

"Usuratonkachi, that wasn't nothing," Sasuke reached out to help Naruto. "What happened?"

"I tripped over Sakura," Naruto answered dully, grabbing the towel from around his shoulder and dropping it over the wine, watching the white material soak the liquid up. Kurama, who Sasuke never even noticed when he was watching, stuck out his nose curiously and lapped at the shrinking pool.

"And she got that mad?" Sasuke shooed Kurama off and began wiping the floor, turning the towel over so that the dry side could pick up the remaining liquid.

"…Yeah." Naruto watched Sasuke deposit the towel onto the tray and begin to lift it. Before Sasuke could do so, Naruto positioned his still-clenched fist over it, loosening it so that one more sharp, blood-covered sliver of glass fell on top of the pile.

Sasuke stared uncomprehendingly at the bright red flowering through the dark purple, before dropping the tray and grabbing Naruto's wrist. He forced the fingers open, looking at Naruto's palm. It had a thin but deep gash in it, and blood was weakly pulsing through.

"Come on, you stupid dobe," Sasuke was on his feet and pulling Naruto up to do the same in no time. "We're getting that cleaned up."

"But Sakura-"

"Leave her alone for a second, will you?" Sasuke dragged Naruto out of the corridor, back around the corner, and up the stairs. "She can afford to wait a little longer. Not like she has anything else to do."

"She wants to talk to you." Naruto said lowly. "She's completely in love with you. I've seen the way she looks at you."

"She's a shallow, spoiled, arrogant bitch," Sasuke snarled, directing Naruto to the right wing where he knew the infirmary was. "She only likes me for my looks."

"Be that as it may, she looks at you like you're her entire world." Naruto's voice seemed to collapse at the end, and it made Sasuke's chest twinge to hear the lack of conviction in his voice.

"I can see the way you look at her as well," Sasuke let go of Naruto's wrist as the stopped in front of the glass doors of the infirmary. "Listen to me, Naruto," Sasuke put both hands on Naruto's shoulders, "I can tell that you love her, but she doesn't deserve you at all."

Naruto met Sasuke's eyes for the first time, the blue as cold and remote as the sea. "Maybe I'm the one that doesn't deserve her."

"What's going on, gaki?" The glass doors swung open before Sasuke could reply, and he found himself instead uncomfortably close to a very, _very_ large bosom.

"He's cut his hand on a piece of glass, and his face was hit," Sasuke explained as Naruto hung his head again, the blond bangs hiding his face from sight.

"What did I tell you about standing up for yourself?" growled Tsunade in a stern but kind tone. When she received no response, she rolled her eyes and put an arm around Naruto's shoulders, gently guiding him through the doors and into a room in the infirmary. "Let's get you patched up."

Sasuke followed the pair, looking down and noticing how his footsteps mirrored Naruto's exactly. Looking up to Naruto's hand, he winced at the small rivulets of blood crisscrossing over his fingers. _Sakura did this,_ a small voice in his head wouldn't stop chanting. _Sakura hurt him. Sakura's hurt him for the past nine years of his life._

Sasuke cleared his throat as his nose met with the sterilized smell of the impeccably clean room. "Er…" he watched as Tsunade pushed Naruto down onto a chair. "Can I help?"

Tsunade grabbed Naruto's hand, examining the gash. "Yes, you can. Clean the wound, it needs stitches," she said briskly, tossing a cotton ball and a small bottle of medicinal alcohol to Sasuke.

Sasuke took Naruto's hand gently, opening the alcohol bottle and pressing a cotton ball to the opening, turning it over so that alcohol soaked the material. Holding Naruto's hand in a firm grip, he pressed the cotton to his hand, wiping away the dried blood around the cut and treating the raw flesh as gently as he possibly could. He glanced up from his job once in a while, the only sound in the room being Tsunade searching through drawers. It was unnerving to see the happy-go-lucky, mouthy blonde being so quiet and sad, barely even wincing at the sting of alcohol.

"Dobe," Sasuke said as a last resort, nudging Naruto's shoulder with his own. "I know what'll cheer you up."

"What?" Naruto mumbled, staring determinedly at the swinging of his feet.

"I know quite a few ramen recipes, you up to making some this afternoon?"

Naruto's head shot up, narrowly missing Sasuke's chin. "Say that again?" A wide grin spread over his face, his teeth gleaming.

"We're making ramen after this-"

"YES!" Naruto cheered, snatching his hand away and pumping them in the air. "Ramen, ramen, ramen-"

_That's more like it, _Sasuke thought as he watched Naruto celebrate in his charmingly childish ways.

"Don't get too excited just yet, brat," Tsunade advanced, brandishing a curved needle with a cordlike threat attached, "You're going to have to get this done first."

* * *

A few hours later, a cheerful Naruto was shoveling ramen noodles in his mouth, sitting against the wall on the floor of the kitchen.

"Mmm, you make the best ramen I've ever tasted." He swallowed the ramen filling his cheeks at an inhuman rate, picking up more with his chopsticks and repeating the process.

"Do I, now?" Sasuke asked from his position next to Naruto, holding his own barely touched bowl in his lap.

"Mhmm!" Naruto grunted and nodded in vigorous agreement, his mouth too full to speak.

"Hn." Sasuke tore his eyes from Naruto's lips to the hand resting limply between them. "How's the cut?" he asked, trying to banish the thought that the hand was simply sitting there, as if it were an invitation for Sasuke to hold it.

"It's alright," Naruto replied, swallowing. He held up the wounded hand and flexed the fingers, looking at the white gauze wrapped around his palm. "Hurts a bit when I move it, though. Hey, you gonna eat that?" he asked, pointing to the bowl in Sasuke's lap.

"Nah."

"Then why make it if you aren't going to eat it?" Naruto snorted, placing his empty bowl to the side and grabbing Sasuke's. "Or are you still under the impression that ramen 'has no nutritional value?'"

"It doesn't, dobe. How hungry are you, anyway?"

"Pretty damn hungry. Haven't eaten anything since this morning. And besides," Naruto looked over to Sasuke with a noodle dangling from the corner of his mouth while pointing his chopsticks at Sasuke sternly, "Ramen cures all."

"You're such a dumbass," Sasuke snorted, reaching out and tugging at the noodle. Naruto turned bright red and sucked it from in between Sasuke's fingers.

"It's rude to steal food," Naruto chided.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, lowering his gaze to the bowl in Naruto's hands and back up to the face still carrying hints of the earlier blush.

"Touche." Naruto's eyes suddenly caught a wicked gleam and he held the bowl up. "You know, it really was _quite_ rude of me to just steal your food like that." He trapped almost half the noodles in the bowl between his chopsticks, lifting them out of the broth. "So it only makes sense that I give it back!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, but found them stuffed with noodles almost immediately. He choked, grunting in disagreement, but Naruto kept putting more and more of the slippery, scalding stuff in. He bit down, slicing the noodles in half, but that seemed to only fill his mouth even more. Sasuke began to have difficulty breathing around the obstacle, and Naruto clearly wouldn't heed any of his grunts and noises, so he did the only thing he could: He tossed away all of his dignity, snatched the bowl from Naruto, and spat all the noodles back in, retching and coughing.

Naruto whistled. "Damn, you should have just told me if you didn't like them."

Sasuke glared at Naruto with all the friendliness of a lion eyeing his prey. "Fuck you, Uzumaki."

Naruto laughed and patted Sasuke condescendingly on the head. Even the simple touch was enough to send chills racing down Sasuke's spine and awaken the butterflies tickling his insides, so it was only natural that what Naruto said next would have Sasuke's head spinning: "Love you too, Sasuke."

* * *

Sasuke threw himself into the bathroom as Sakura passed, humming a small tune with her light and shimmery voice. At least, it was when Sakura wasn't screaming at Naruto. She was wearing the dress that Naruto had spilled wine over, Sasuke noticed, and it was spotless and it looked even better than it had earlier in the day. Naruto probably wasn't thanked at all, Sasuke snorted at the thought.

When Sakura was safely out of earshot, Sasuke ran out of the bathroom and down a staircase built with grey stone. The exploration of the gigantic estate when Sasuke was bored had evidently paid off. As he descended the stairs three at a time, he jumped the last six and hurried to the archives, which would be just around the corner if he remembered correctly.

"Ah, Sasuke," Itachi turned in his chair as Sasuke burst into the door.

"Found anything?" Sasuke demanded, striding briskly to Itachi's desk and shuffling through the various sheets of paper scattered on the surface.

"No," Itachi sighed, "I've been at it nonstop. I've looked through all six folders of their family tree, read damned biographies of the people up to Mebuki's great-great-great-great-great grandparents and Kizashi's thirteenth cousin twice removed. And still, I've found nothing."

Sasuke looked carefully at Itachi's face, noticing that his brother was even paler than he usually was and that there were dark shadows marring the skin under his eyes. His tear troughs seemed even deeper as well, and there was a grayish pallor to his skin. "Are you feeling alright?"

Itachi managed a small smirk, reaching up to ruffle Sasuke's hair. "Nice to know that you still care about me, my dear little brother. And yes, I'm quite fine, just a bit tired."

"You should probably go to sleep, then. You've practically made this place your living quarters."

"In a moment. First, I need to discuss something with you." Something in the black eyes shifted, letting Sasuke know that for once Itachi wasn't joking around.

"What is it?"

"I don't think that we can rely on only family records to figure this out. I've been trying my best to avoid looking too deep into personal histories, but it just isn't going to work. Their picture albums all have a suspiciously large time jump: they go from a seven-year-old Sakura to a sixteen-year-old one in the span of half a page. And look at this," Itachi grabbed a folder sitting on top of a stack at the far corner of the desk, opening it and splaying the papers out, "These have been modified too recently to be accurate. Nine years previously, either these have been tampered with or someone didn't want something revealed. There's something startlingly significant about the number nine, don't you think?"

Sasuke thought long and hard, trying to place in his memories when Naruto had ever mentioned anything that would fit the context of nine years. "He said that he couldn't remember anything from before he was nine years old," Sasuke spoke slowly, frowning. "Nine years of memories, lost and never found. The same thing with Sakura, but she's a year younger than Naruto. She told me she couldn't remember anything from before she was eight."

Itachi nodded. "Exactly. Which leads me to think that this, all of this, was done on purpose. Have you ever discussed this to the King or Queen?"

"No, they're always busy."

"They are the ones that concern me the most, and they would be prime suspect for anything done on purpose. Wouldn't you be concerned if your closest servant and your daughter woke up one morning with no recollections of the past eight or nine years of their lives? And yet they don't seem to see anything even remotely strange about it. Either that, or they want to keep it a secret, but what good would keeping it a secret be?"

Sasuke shrugged, inwardly impressed at the amount of deduction Itachi had been able to make with such little information.

"We're going to have to look at more delicate information from now on. And I think it would be justifiable to start with their medical records."

"Haven't you already looked through all their medical statuses?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"It's only a very vague description. Their official medical records should be like a small book for each person, with detailed descriptions of every hospital visit, doses of strong medications, and the degree of their health for each year or so. Luckily, I think I'll only have to examine the records of Naruto, Sakura, and the King and Queen."

"That's all good and well," Sasuke interrupted Itachi's enthusiastic tirade, "But you really need to be going to sleep."

Itachi paused. "You're right." He stood from his chair, stretching his body out like a feline. "You should head up to bed as well." He took Sasuke's hand, a gesture that Sasuke didn't mind as it reminded him of his childhood, and led the both of them to their rooms.

* * *

_Damn it,_ Sasuke swore, pacing in front of his bed. His mind had been boggled with nothing but the blonde all evening, and he hadn't even been able to concentrate while having a late conversation with Sakura. Mainly, she had been reduced to talking to herself, but they had bid each other good night before the conversation could get too awkward. Now Sasuke had no idea where Naruto was, but it made him almost glad that he wasn't in the room at the moment.

It almost made him laugh; earlier he'd have wanted nothing more than to get into Naruto's pants, and now he was trying to keep himself away from the brink of the cliff, trying to avoid getting sucked into the spiraling, inevitable fall into the grey and unfamiliar clouds beyond it. _Damn it, you need to stop this,_ Sasuke scolded himself. _You're getting married in two months; you won't ever see him ever again after that. There's no point in giving yourself false hope. Keep it together, don't let him get any closer. Keep him out._ Even as he chided himself, images rose unbidden to his mind: all of the same man, with his lopsided and goofy grin, the laughter plastered on his lips that made Sasuke want nothing more than to laugh with him, of the times they'd shared that might have seemed insignificant to Naruto but had patched up every single hole in Sasuke's world.

Sasuke stopped pacing and flung himself onto the bed. _You're not going to keep him out for long,_ a small voice inside him said, drowning out the screaming of every other reasonable part in him even at a whisper. _You're getting sucked in. _"Stop it," Sasuke verbally hissed, clutching his head to make the taunting voice stop. _Admit it, Sasuke. __You're half off the cliff and your fingertips are slipping._

* * *

**A/N: **It's finally done, it's 2 AM, the things I do for you guys. GOOD. NIGHT.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **It's break, so I'm going to (hopefully) be spewing out chapters left and right.

**Reply:** To the lovely Guest who gave that long review: I want to thank you, first of all, for leaving a nice, thoughtful review about the story. Not many people do that these days unfortunately, and they're quite honestly the ones that help writers such as myself improve on sites like this. I've been trying to think of ways to fix up all the plot holes, so answers to those questions will be revealed soon C: Your powers of deduction are almost on Itachi's level, but I'm afraid that I can't say anything just yet about your theories. In regards to the thing that bothered me the most, I checked out "Love Bites" immediately after I saw what you said, and you were completely right; the stories are extremely similar when they begin, to a point where I too became extremely fidgety in the middle of reading it. I'd like to formally apologize to you for the discomfort I caused, and I'll be editing the first section in respect for darkalbino, you, and others that feel the same way shortly. Thank you for reading until this point despite that fact, hope the rest of this tale turns out to be worth your time ^.^

**Disclaimer: **Everything will be mine. Soon. ;-;

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Sasuke was woken for the fourth time that week to Naruto tossing and turning, whimpering in his sleep. It was worrying him deeply; Naruto had been having more and more restless nights , and when he did fall into uneasy dozes, he would be plagued by what Sasuke was convinced were nightmares. Naruto never revealed the content of his dreams to Sasuke, even when they were so bad that tears began pouring down his face. Sasuke didn't know what the cause was, but it pained him to see Naruto suffering.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, reaching out to Naruto. The blonde was completely unresponsive, only tossing his head and breathing harshly. His shirt was plastered to his chest with sweat and it was clear that Naruto was terrified.

No matter how much Sasuke raised his voice or how hard he shook Naruto, he wouldn't wake up. His movements began to become even more violent and jerky, the eyes flickering beneath the lids as if searching left and right for the source of his fear. Sasuke soon gave up his futile attempts and instead did the only thing he could think of that might comfort Naruto: he pulled the smaller man to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around Naruto and trapping his movements. He let the fingers on one hand card soothingly through the damp hair on Naruto's head, noticing that Naruto's breathing had calmed down and he was no longer writhing.

Sasuke forced himself to lie awake next to Naruto for the rest of the night, tightening his grip around Naruto whenever he whimpered in an attempt to assure him that he wasn't alone, that Sasuke was there for him. His fingers kept stroking languorously through Naruto's hair, a warm and slightly nostalgic smell filling his nostrils that rose from Naruto's body. He felt a bit guilty, as he enjoyed this immensely, but he kept it a small but constant reminder that in the morning, he'd have to let go.

* * *

"Smell me!"

"I-I beg your pardon?" Kiba asked, affronted.

"I'm serious! Smell me!" Naruto practically shouting, absolutely freaking out over what Kiba considered nothing. "Look, even with _my_ nose I can smell spearmint, lavender, and peach shampoo all over me! I don't use peach shampoo!" Naruto howled, burying his face into his vest. "Get it off, the smell's making me feel weird!"

Kiba grabbed Naruto's head, giving a deep sniff to his hair. "Huh, that's strange."

"No shit! What is it and why do I smell like this?!"

"Didn't you sleep with Sasuke? Maybe that's his scent," Kiba responded, trying to calm the blonde down.

"My side of the bed smells like _me, _and occasionally like Kurama's shampoo! I never wake up with peaches and mint on me!"

Kiba sighed. "You said the smell's making you feel weird?"

"Yes!" Naruto yelled.

Kiba winced. For a man that seemed below average in height, Naruto's voice was incredibly loud. "Is it making your head ache, do you want to throw up?"

"No, it's-" Naruto's hand came to rest on his stomach, "-It's making _here_ feel weird!"

"So, you want to throw up?"

"No, it feels like that one time you made me play piano for the entire countrywide celebration!"

"Huh?" Kiba frowned. It sounded almost like Naruto was referring to nervousness. "Well, do you like the smell?"

"No! I mean, yes, just not on me! You get what I'm saying?"

A slow grin started cracking Kiba's face in half as the realization dawned on him. "Oh yeah, I get what you're saying. Completely." He held up a hand and began inspecting the nails. "So, tell me…how close are you and Sasuke?"

"Eeeh?" Naruto stuttered. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Oh, nothing." Kiba smirked, punching Naruto lightly in the shoulder. "Up for some ramen, then? I'll race you to the kitchen."

"Already ahead of you!" Naruto called back over his shoulder, running at breakneck speed in the direction of the kitchens.

Kiba shook his head. "You're so oblivious," he whispered with a fond smile before taking off after Naruto.

* * *

Sasuke was bored stiff. He'd pasted a smile onto his features that made him look more like he was yearning to throw up and he kept glancing out the window, Sakura's obnoxiously high voice floating in one ear and out the other.

"So, will that be alright with you, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hm?" Sasuke whipped his head around to look at Sakura over the table, her green eyes glimmering with excitement.

"Is it okay for us to have white and lilac tablecloths?"

"Yes, that sounds splendid." Sasuke's eyes had already left her face and he'd stopped listening to the question after the word 'okay.'

"Everything else is already arranged," Sakura squealed, reaching across the table for Sasuke's limp hand, comparing the silver band around his finger to the crystalline diamond-set one around her ring finger. The light of the sun was reflecting off the polished surface directly into Sasuke's peripheral vision, proving to be quite a distraction.

"When is the wedding scheduled?" Sasuke asked quietly, reluctantly facing Sakura and removing his hand from her fingers.

"The second of June," Sakura responded, resting her chin on her hand as she stared lovingly at Sasuke. "I love you."

Sasuke wouldn't, couldn't reply to that. Doing so would be a blatant lie, and inside he was panicking over what to say instead.

"Hn." God, he was ready to slap himself for that pathetic response.

Sakura didn't seem to notice anything wrong, for she let out a dreamy sigh and stood, the folds of her silver dress shimmering with each movement of hers. "I have to go attend to my duties, so I'll have to cut the conversation short here," she told him, looking absolutely devastated while Sasuke rejoiced. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful," Sasuke replied, standing as well.

"See you later." Sakura stepped forward and gave Sasuke a peck on his cheek before hurrying off in the opposite direction.

Sasuke immediately scrubbed at his cheek with his sleeve, wiping off the sticky residue of lipstick left by Sakura's kiss. Sighing, he sat back down at the table, staring outside and playing with the spoon in his cup of tea.

* * *

Itachi slumped down at his desk. "Kiba, how long have you been here?"

"Eh, I dunno," Kiba yelled from inside the archives. "My parents worked here, and I got recruited when I was around eight or nine. That's when I met Naruto."

"You must know some of what's going on, then."

Kiba poked his head out from the doorway. "Alright, this could very well get me fired, but asking's going to get you nowhere. I was too young to understand what happened, but I do know that something happened in the royal family that everyone's sworn to secrecy about. I don't know why they are, and I don't know what they're keeping secrets from, but it can't be anything good. That's why I'm so keen to help a bastard like you, I want to know as well."

"Mm," Itachi hummed, picking up the medical records again.

"I'm also getting kind of concerned about Naruto." There was a loud, resounding crash in the archives. "I mean, he's clearly not getting enough sleep, but it's happening all over again."

"What is?" Itachi asked, only vague words of Kiba's commentary being digested through his reading.

"Well, when I first met him, he had these awful nightmares almost every night. You could tell when they got especially bad, he would always wake up crying the next morning, and the shadows underneath his eyes got so bad that they looked like bruises."

Itachi slowly lowered the papers. "How often did he have them?"

Kiba's voice answered back a few moments later, tight with exertion. "When he was nine, he had them almost every night. They gradually eased off, and then they stopped completely-" Another loud booming crash sounded, followed by loud panting, "-but now he's been having them again, I just know it."

"Has he ever told you about what the nightmares are of? And what on earth are you doing in there?"

"Sorry, I knocked over one of the cabinets. His nightmares are what brought us closer together, as messed up as that sounds. He always came to me after having one, and as far as I remember, they were all of car crashes. At first I thought that maybe he was going mental and had some crazy phobia of car crashes, but after getting to know him a little better, he started hinting at it being because his parents dying in a car crash." There was a long, thoughtful pause. "Funnily enough, I remember him telling me that he doesn't remember anything about his parents or how they died."

Kiba's words sent Itachi's mind reeling in a new myriad of theories. It wasn't much to go on, but it told him a whole lot more that the family records ever did. "How long did it take for the nightmares to ease off?"

"Eh, two weeks about. Why?"

Itachi sat forward in his seat, turning the pages in the medical records with newly acquired enthusiasm. "I need you to get Sasuke here, right now."

"A-alright," Kiba shot Itachi a funny look, wiping his palms on his pants and exiting the archives.

* * *

"Did you find something?" Sasuke asked, rushing into the room.

"Yes!" Itachi replied gleefully, grabbing Sasuke's arm and pulling him to the desk. "Kiba here gave me some _very _interesting information, and I just read through Naruto's medical records and I think I've solved the case about halfway!"

"What? What did you find out?" Sasuke asked, excitement building up in him.

"You've noticed the recurring nightmares starting back up, haven't you?" Itachi asked to confirm.

"Yes, what about them?"

"Have you been questioning Naruto of his past as of late?"

"Er…" Sasuke looked away guiltily. "I was curious-"

"Excellent job!" Itachi interrupted, pounding Sasuke on the back in congratulations. "Those nightmares aren't dreams; they're _memories_ that have been pushed up to the surface as a result of all the efforts to remember on Naruto's part!"

"I'd kind of figured that out on my own, thanks," Sasuke replied, bemused.

"But this is revolutionary! Have you ever heard of repressed memories?" Itachi asked.

"Heard of the term, never looked into it."

"It's when the mind suffers an incident so traumatic that the brain pushes the memories into the far corners of the mind. But those memories often reemerge within a span of five to forty years."

"Do you think that's the case with Naruto and Sakura?"

"Absolutely not!" Itachi crowed, beginning to make Sasuke question his sanity. "Repressed memories don't usually encompass the memories of a child's entire life." Itachi snatched the medical booklet up, riffling quickly through the pages. "Here. Read this."

Sasuke scanned his eyes quickly over the page, drinking in all the details. When he got to an entry at the bottom of the page, he stopped, his eyes widening. "What? What does that mean?"

"What is it?" Kiba piped up from the back of the room.

"On the July nine years previously," Itachi paraphrased, "Uzumaki Naruto was administered an unusually large dose of what we call today, _statins._"

"What the hell are those?" Kiba scratched his head.

"Cholesterol-lowering drugs. And they tend to have a rather peculiar side effect that we associate today with _amnesia."_

The sound of Itachi and Sasuke's brains at work was almost audible, like the turning and clanking of gears. "Naruto didn't have a cholesterol problem nine years ago, did he?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"What kind of otherwise healthy nine year old boy gets cholesterol?" Itachi scoffed. "And I bet if you look in Sakura's medical records," he flipped through the other pages and quickly located the page, slamming his forefinger down onto the passage, "You'll find the exact same dosage on the exact same day."

"But then why are Naruto's memories returning now? I thought they were erased by the statins?" Sasuke was still confused.

"Statins can take anywhere up from a few hours to a few days to begin working. Since Naruto didn't have high cholesterol levels from the very start, I think the statins began attacking the brain's cholesterol. When the brain's cholesterol levels get too low, it can cause serious problems with the connections between nerve cells-the connections of which affect your skills of memory and learning. Since the first few days, Naruto still had the statins in effect, he was probably having those nightmares all night for about a week before they started to back off. Does that sound accurate?" he asked Kiba, who nodded in return. "Memories erased by drugs are never really erased; it only affects the transfer of short term memory to long term memory, as well as the ability to recall those long term memories. Feelings and habits before memory loss are often carried through regardless of how well the person remembers what causes those feelings, which may explain Sakura's behavior towards Naruto."

"And you're sure that the whole setup was on purpose, and that the incident was triggered by a car crash?"

"I'm pretty confident on the car crash, but that still tells us virtually nothing. For all we know, Naruto ran over Sakura's pet rock and caused her to go mad. That would be a plausible answer based on the lack of intel we have," Itachi sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back.

"Are the King and Queen still suspects?" Sasuke was beginning to get frustrated by the lack of leads they had. They'd had a breakthrough, but now what?

"Even more so now. I've already looked through their records, neither of them are recorded as taking statins anywhere in their lifetime."

"Ah." Sasuke thought for a while before asking one last question. "What are your theories?"

"I've had one, the same one, ever since the start of this damned investigation," Itachi murmured. "These recent events have only made the foundations of that theory even stronger. But I don't have enough evidence to prove it as correct."

"And?" Sasuke quipped, growing impatient. "What is it?"

"You're going to have to wait and see, little one," Itachi patted Sasuke on the head, much to the younger's displeasure, and sent him off to bed.

* * *

**A/N: **If everything goes as planned, the answer to all of this shall come next chapter. Ready for all your theories to drop dead onto the grass? :33

Also, if you notice any other blatant similarities of my stories to others', please let me know, as I absolutely hate plagiarism. Hopefully it's insignificant enough that I can edit it out without wrecking the entirety of my story e.e -Sarge


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Settled in alright? Got your blanket, your popcorn, everything? Alright then, let's get started.

**Disclaimer: **None of this is mine.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

"Do you, by any chance, have any records of servants that have worked here in the past? Like a catalog sort of thing?"

Kiba sighed at Itachi's request. "We do, but it might take a while to find it."

"That's fine, take your time." As Kiba left to go search, Itachi turned to Sasuke. "How are things going with Naruto, then?" he asked, a suggestive light in his dark eyes.

Sasuke stiffened. "He hasn't told me anything else, if that's what you're asking."

"Che, you know what I'm talking about." Itachi wiggled his eyebrows. "Any…luck so far?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sasuke glared pointedly in the opposite direction and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Come on, Sasuke, it's painfully obvious. Why else would you care so much about Naruto?"

"He's my friend. Best friend. What other excuses do I need? I want him to be happy, get over this shit."

"And what about you?" Itachi asked carefully. "Carted off to marry a girl you don't like, forced to take over the kingdom once her parents pass away or step down. Why do so much for Naruto's happiness?"

Sasuke sighed and took a seat on the ground, leaned on Itachi's leg. "When he's happy, I'm happy. I'd do anything to see that annoying grin on his stupid face."

"And why is that?" Itachi asked, poking Sasuke in the forehead.

Sasuke scowled, reaching up to rub the abused spot. "Because."

"That's not a real answer," Itachi replied teasingly.

Sasuke gave a low growl. "Because it makes everything seem alright. Because it makes me want to smile back. Because it makes him look pretty. I don't know."

"How do you feel when he's upset, or crying?"

"Since when did you become my therapist?" Sasuke glowered up at Itachi.

"Answer the question, little one."

"Stop calling me that." Sasuke thought for a moment. "I'd want to hold him until he feels better. I want to hold him forever. I don't know, why are you asking me?"

"Because you're too dense to realize that you're in love with him." The words were barely out of Itachi's mouth when Sasuke interrupted.

"I'm not in love with him!" Sasuke denied vehemently.

"Exactly." At that moment, the door to the archives burst open with a metallic clang as it hit the wall, Kiba carrying a thick folder in his arms.

"Here's all the information I could find. The most recent should be in the front, and there are dates marked on the top right corners of each page."

Itachi took the folder and immediately skipped a large chunk of pages after opening it, scanning his eyes quickly over the papers.

"Aren't you going to start from the beginning?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi held up a finger to quiet him. "That would only be a waste of time." As he flipped, searching, his well-trained eyes locked on only one word for each column: when and if the servants took their leave. Present, resigned, present, present, resigned… the words practically alternated. He wasn't surprised; Mebuki and Kizashi didn't seem to be the type of people who would fire their workers. Present, resigned, resigned, present, fired, present…

Itachi's eyes doubled back. Fired? "Kiba, how often do workers get fired in this household?"

"Not very often, I'd say. In fact, I don't think a worker's gotten fired for years now. Did you find something?"

"'Inoue Ayumu. Worked as first-class driver for the royal family. Fired for…" Itachi stopped.

"What? What is it?" Sasuke stood, leaning over the table to read. As he got to the end of the sentence, the text was inexplicably blocked off, as if the person typing had suddenly stopped for no particular reason.

Itachi lifted the folder, tilting it left and right under the warm lights in the room. His eyes didn't miss the faint strip of glossiness on the paper. "It's white-out."

"Why are all these documents modified?" Sasuke asked, directing his question at Kiba.

"Don't ask me, man," Kiba raised his hands as if in surrender. "I never touch the things."

Itachi pulled a scalpel from his pocket, twirling it in his fingers.

"Uh-do you just carry knives in your pockets wherever you go?" Kiba asked nervously, his eyes never leaving the instrument.

Itachi looked up and winked. "Privilege of a police officer." With one quick and expert swipe, he scraped the white-out off the paper, the material building up on the edge of the razor-like blade.

"'Fired for unintentional limousine accident. Brought to court on August eleventh; held accountable for one case of involuntary manslaughter," Sasuke and Itachi read in unison. Both looked at each other in horror, the revelation shining in their expressions.

"Kiba! Do you know who was killed in the accident, or any of what happened?" Itachi asked sharply.

"N-no! I thought I told you, I was too young!" Kiba was clutching at his hair, his face screwed up in horror. "Is this what everyone was trying to keep a secret?"

Itachi was thinking hard, his fist resting on his lips in his classic thinking position.

"Your theory, what was it?" Sasuke asked, his expression frantic.

"I'm ninety-percent sure of it now," Itachi whispered. "This is all the hard evidence we're going to get from now on; the rest of it relies on purely spoken information. Do either of you have anything else you didn't tell me before? It could be anything, anything that Naruto's told you about Sakura from the past!"

"I've got nothing." Kiba turned with desperation in his eyes to Sasuke. "What about you?"

"Er…" Sasuke wracked his brains, thinking of anything that Naruto had said to him on a whim. His mind automatically thought back to the day when he'd first warmed up to Naruto, in his room and sitting on his bed. "He described to me what he could remember of her when they were young," he replied as a last resort. The information was probably as unhelpful as it could get, but it was worth a try. "He said that Sakura was tanned, she had freckles on her nose, her eyes were green, and her hair was brown before she dyed it."

Itachi looked up quickly at this, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

Itachi pointed to an open photo album Sasuke hadn't noticed was open on his desk, the smiling, chubby face of a younger Sakura looking up at him. "Sakura never had brown hair."

"O-oh," Sasuke stammered. "He might have been confused, since he took the statins and all-"

"No, I don't think that's it." Itachi stood, rubbing his temples. "I think I know what's going on. Kiba, mind taking us back to the nursery upstairs?"

"No problem." Kiba whirled around the desk and opened the door to the hall, holding it open until Itachi and Sasuke dashed through. The trio sped up the stairs, walking as quickly as they could without breaking into a run. They dodged through a maze of servants on the way, all of them yelping and shouting after them as they were either crashed into or pushed out of the way.

As they climbed the last spiraling set of stairs, panting slightly, Kiba held his arm out to stop them as he opened the door in the cramped space. Itachi and Sasuke filed through, Kiba coming in last and letting the door slide shut.

"What's in here?" Sasuke asked, not understanding.

"Take a good look around you; the evidence is everywhere."

"I don't see it."

Itachi stepped forward, grabbing a set of toys that were strewn on the ground. "Look at these."

"They're the same," Sasuke observed.

"Exactly. Now look at those two, and those two. What need would a child have for getting two of the same toy?" Itachi spun around, his cloak billowing out behind him. "Look at these," he snatched a pair of necklaces hanging from a jewelry stand, holding them close to Sasuke's nose. "They're friendship necklaces. Now I wonder why Sakura would have a set of friendship necklaces sitting in her room without reason."

Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, frowning. "What are you getting at?"

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's chin gently, turning his head to look at the corner of the room. "What do you see there?"

The younger Uchiha snatched Itachi's wrist, ripping his hand away and snarling in annoyance. "A bureau, a desk, and a bed!"

"Think, Sasuke!" Itachi exclaimed. "That's not just a bed, is it?! Put two and two together! Why would there be so many duplicates in this room, what was so huge that drove Sakura and Naruto to erasing their own memories, and why would Naruto be having these nightmares about a Sakura with brown hair, involved in a car accident? Why are all the family records, all the family trees of their family altered, like there's something that someone doesn't want us to see?"

Sasuke's eyes cleared. "It's a bunk bed."

"Yes. You know the answer, don't you?"

Sasuke's heart was beating erratically with the force of their discovery, his breathing alternating between harsh and impossibly shallow. "Oh my God. She had a sister, didn't she?" he asked Itachi, his eyes wide. "Sakura had a sister."

He could only watch numbly as Itachi gave one nod.

* * *

It was Sasuke who was angry and it was Sasuke who stormed through the halls, a murderous look in his eyes that parted the servants in front of him without a word. It was Sasuke who threw open the tall doors to the throne room, and it was Sasuke who slammed his fist onto Mebuki's desk to catch her attention.

"You lied to them!" he roared, his arms being twisted back as Itachi and Kiba came running to restrain him. "Why did you lie to them? Did you think it would make things better?"

"Sasuke, calm down!" Itachi hissed through gritted teeth. It was all he could do to keep Sasuke from pouncing on the Queen, even with Kiba helping.

"What are you talking about?" The calm expression never left her face, but all of them could see the dread creeping into her eyes.

"Where is your _precious_ king? I want an explanation for this, all of it!" Sasuke shrieked, shaking in fury.

Mebuki looked directly at Itachi. "You didn't come here just for the invitations, did you?"

Itachi lowered his head, being unable to bow with Sasuke in his arms. "Forgive me. I'm the head chief of the Police Department, and it was my idea to have this investigation set."

Mebuki paled. "You had no right-"

"WE HAD EVERY RIGHT!" Sasuke howled, a crazy light in his shrunken pupils. "You've been _destroying_ them ever since it happened! She's my fiancé and he's my best friend, you insensitive-"

"Sasuke! No matter what happens, she is your Queen and you must treat her with respect!" Itachi scolded.

"I apologize for him, Your Majesty," Kiba bowed his head. "It was wrong of us-"

"_Don't you dare apologize for me!_ It's HER that should be apologizing on her knees to Naruto and Sakura, the King included!"

Sasuke's yells echoed in the room, slowly fading to inexistence. All four beings were in shock, partly because of Sasuke's behavior, and partly because of the knowledge that had been forced into their brains.

"Sit down," Mebuki said softly after what seemed like weeks, or even months. It was a request, not an order.

Itachi pulled out the three chairs placed conveniently in front of them, letting go of Sasuke so they could seat themselves. Sasuke was glaring at Mebuki, but he didn't seem like he was going to attack her.

"I suppose I do owe you all an explanation," she started, her voice tight and her lips trembling.

"Damn right, you do," Sasuke snarled, slouching down in his chair at Itachi's reproving frown.

Mebuki ignored Sasuke. "I apologize for the absence of my husband, as he is on a business trip at the moment. First, I'd like to hear what you've found out."

"We've made the assumption that Sakura had a sister when she was little, involved in a car accident and that Naruto had something to do with it." Itachi replied quickly before Sasuke had the chance.

"Well, I can't tell you much about the details of the car accident, but you're quite right, except that Sakura didn't have a sister. Sakura isn't even my child."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke sharply, his voice like knives.

"She's my niece." Mebuki put a hand in front of her trembling mouth, tears filling her eyes and spilling over, "When they were young,Sakura and my daughter, Airi, were extremely close. Even though Sakura was born to my sister, everyone regarded Sakura and Airi as sisters nonetheless. They never went anywhere without each other, and they even insisted on wearing the same clothes and sleeping in the same room. Airi was five and Sakura was two when Naruto came into the picture."

Sasuke met her eyes slowly, questioningly. All traces of aggression were gone, but it was clear though he was angry, he was listening intently.

"I knew his parents very well. They were extremely close friends of ours, Minato and Kushina. One day, when Naruto was three, they were involved in a tragic three-way car incident and both their lives were taken. Naruto was at home while it happened, so he couldn't have possibly known, but we refused to let him get taken into an orphanage, so we adopted him as our own.

"When Sakura and Airi met him, they took an immediate liking to him. He was the brother that Airi and Sakura had always wanted, and they were so, so close. When Airi was ten, we were going out to dinner with some very important lords, and they were playing too close to the car. Our driver didn't see them, he couldn't brake, and-"

Mebuki broke off into uncontrollable sobs, turning her face away and trying to control the tears. It was a while before she could continue.

"Sakura and Naruto were heartbroken. Both were crying, none of them could understand what was going on. A few days afterward, when I told them that Airi was gone and she wasn't coming back, Sakura rounded on Naruto. She told him that she hated him, she slapped him, kicked him, and Naruto didn't know what to do.

"I realize that it wasn't the right choice, but I couldn't bear to see them like that. I didn't want them to see death at such an early age, so I fed them the rest of my statins. They took it without question, but the effects weren't as strong as I'd hoped." Sasuke hissed in derision at that. "Sakura's hatred still continued, and they both would wake up screaming at night. The entire castle was in turmoil, because Airi was supposed to be the next Queen after me and Kizashi. We didn't have a successor, so I took in Sakura and raised her as my own. She obviously didn't remember that I wasn't her mother, so we got along fine. Even though Naruto was my adopted son, I stripped him of that title and made him a servant so that he wouldn't be burdened with Sakura's hatred and forced all the servants to keep it a secret from them. And now, here we are." Mebuki finished bitterly.

Itachi nodded slowly. "I understand."

"I regret it. More than anything."

"We understand." Itachi told her firmly. "But you realize that we are going to have to tell Naruto and Sakura this, don't you?"

"Leave Sakura to me. I feel like I should be the one to tell her this." Mebuki insisted.

"Alright. Sasuke and I will take care of Naruto."

Kiba, who had been listening silently, spoke up. "You realize that he's not going to take it well, don't you?" he asked. "He's strong, but…you know."

Itachi nodded. "I don't think anyone could handle it well."

"When are you going to tell him?" Kiba asked apprehensively.

"If things go well…" Itachi replied, turning to leave. "Tonight."

* * *

**A/N: **Was it good? Did it catch you by surprise? Did I explain it well enough? Gahhh, I have so many mixed feelings about this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it, more's coming soon :33 Sarge out!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Aaaand…cue the angsty bit. Starting now.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Oi, Naruto." There were three loud knocks at said blonde's door. Naruto looked up from his book and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, planting his feet on the ground and stretching before walking over and opening the door.

"Hey, Kiba!" Naruto greeted, spreading his arms wide for a hug.

"Hey," Kiba repeated halfheartedly, lunging forward for the tight embrace.

"What do you need, then?" Naruto grinned.

Kiba tried to smile back, but it was obvious that his heart wasn't in it. His slitted eyes remained forlorn and his lips were drawn back as if he was baring his teeth instead of grinning. "Sasuke wants to talk to you."

Naruto shrugged. "Alright." He stepped out of their room and shut the door behind him, falling into pace with Kiba. "Something bothering you, champ?"

"Nah, it's nothing."

"Are you sure? Because that fake smile isn't fooling anyone. And quite honestly, your lack of Kibaness and your announcement of 'Sasuke wanting to talk with me' is scaring me."

"I'm just tired, Naruto." Kiba responded, not meeting his eyes.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but let it go. The rest of the way was silent until Kiba took a turn down a scarcely used hallway and stopped in front of a door that was opened even less.

"Uh, are you sure this is the right place?" Naruto eyed Kiba as if the other man had gone crazy. "This room is never used."

"Yep, that's the one." Kiba folded his arms in front of his chest.

Naruto narrowed his eyes to blue slits. "You know, call me paranoid, but I think there's something you're not telling me. And that gives me even more reason to be scared."

"Just get in, you stupid foxface," Kiba scoffed, turning the doorknob and pitching Naruto into the room.

Naruto whirled around, but the door was already shut. Realizing he had no other choice, he turned back around: "Hey there." His eyes took in the two men occupying the couches, the dim and warm light making the room feel surprisingly cosy. "Itachi, Sasuke."

Itachi nodded back, unsmilingly. "Sasuke, do you want me to stay, or…?"

"You can wait outside for us." Sasuke replied, standing and leading Itachi to the door. When the man exited, he faced Naruto with a small smile. "Hey."

Naruto narrowed his eyes even more, the dark feeling of apprehension tightening in his chest. "Uh… Are you feeling alright? Because you just smiled at me and I'm pretty sure that we safely established that the corners of your mouth could go no direction but down."

"Dobe." Sasuke pushed Naruto onto one of the red and black velvet couches. A coffee table sat in the middle of an arrangement of three similar couches, and Sasuke took a seat directly across from Naruto on the opposite side of the coffee table. "We need to talk."

"Uh, yes, talk." Naruto cleared his voice. "Now I'm really scared."

Sasuke could have laughed, but given the seriousness of the situation, his breath only came out heavier from his nostrils as the only indication that he was amused. "I don't really know where to start," he admitted, leaning forward and putting his elbow on his spread knees.

Naruto tilted his head to the side, giving him an air of innocence that made Sasuke even more reluctant to tell him. "How about from the beginning?"

Sasuke put one hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it in small circles before placing it back on his knee. "Do you know why Itachi was sent here?"

"Yeah, wasn't he the almighty Invitation Writer and Sender or something?"

"No." Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed. "We thought that something seemed off about the whole deal between you and Sakura, so we set up an entire investigation in the archives to figure out what the cause of it was."

"You WHAT-" Naruto sat up, outraged, but was cut off by Sasuke.

"Just listen. We avoided trespassing into your privacy as much as we could, and now I still have no idea who you are besides the things you've shared with me. I swear that we didn't look into any personal matters." _Mostly._

"And?" Naruto asked tersely. "What did you find?"

"We found out a lot of stuff, but Itachi and I have decided to let you figure it out on your own. By using your memory."

"Teme, I told you already," Naruto argued, "I don't remember _anything._"

"Then I'll help you with it. What do you do when you don't want to remember something?"

Naruto sat back with a huff. "It's…it's kind of stupid."

"I solemnly swear I won't laugh." Sasuke intoned.

"That's an easy promise to keep, you never laugh anyway." Naruto muttered. "Alright…I pretty much just imagine my mind as a river. When I was younger, sometimes Kizashi and Mebuki would take some of the kids out on fishing trips. You know how you find a shallow part in the river, and you block it off with rocks so that the fish can't get through?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod from Sasuke. "Well, that's kind of the analogy there. My memories are like the fish, swimming into the pool and getting trapped. When I want to remember something, it's just like fishing. I cast my hook in, wait around for a bit in search for the fish, and then when it bites I tug it up. When I want to forget something, then I just pull out some of the rocks and let the fish swim out. It doesn't make me completely forget, you know, but it helps a lot if there's something I feel really embarrassed or guilty about."

Sasuke nodded. "Have you ever pulled up the rocks in your lifetime?"

"Well, no. But since I can't remember much of my childhood, I guess I pulled up the rocks there, for some reason."

"No. They're still in there, somewhere. Memories are never completely erased."

"Who said I erased them? I just wanted to forget," Naruto retorted.

"Why did you want to forget?" Sasuke pressed.

"I don't remember!"

"Then you didn't pull the stones out." Sasuke met Naruto's burning gaze with an intense glare of his own. "Come on. Cast your hook in, pull those fish out."

"I can't, though." Even as he spoke, he did exactly that, trying and searching with all his might to remember. "It's all…foggy."

"Bring a light with you. Whatever happens, you have to remember."

Naruto closed his eyes, resting his chin on his hand. "This isn't that easy, you know."

"I'm being serious, Naruto." Sasuke reprimanded quietly.

"I know, I know," Naruto sighed. "This is _way_ harder than it looks, just letting you know."

"Don't talk to me, then. Don't think of anything but the pool. Concentrate."

Naruto was silent, screwing his eyes shut and trying even harder. He was met only by a blank wall, however hard he tried to push by it. "I can't. Maybe you should talk to me."

"Empty your mind."

"God, this sounds like a fucking meditative class or something."

"Try to remember. Remember Sakura, when she was young? Remember all the things you did with her?"

"No," Naruto grunted. He was trying so hard that his face was turning red, his veins sticking out on his temple. "It's all nothing. The pool is empty over there."

"Bait the fish," Sasuke's voice echoed faintly in the recesses of Naruto's mind. "Make _them_ come to you. It's what you do when you fish, right?"

Another half hour passed in much of the same fashion, Naruto trying his best to remember while Sasuke goaded him, trying to draw answers out of him.

"It's a battle between you and the fish. You hate losing, don't you? Well then don't let the fish escape from you! You have to catch the memories!"

Naruto groaned. He was losing track of time; for all he knew, a minute could have passed, or an hour, a year, a century. He was trying to go around the wall, shining the light into the fog as far as it could go, and then he was trying to ram it over, climb over, anything. It was physically draining.

"You can do this," Sasuke encouraged. He kept glancing at the clock, checking to see how much time passed. He didn't want to strain Naruto too much, but at the same time, he wanted Naruto to know as soon as possible.

"No, I can't," Naruto said in such a weak, trembling voice that Sasuke had to look over and check that it was actually Naruto who was sitting across from him. "I can't do it…I can't remember…I-I don't _want_ to remember…"

He'd cast his line over the mysterious wall, and the line was taut, being tugged on as it tried to escape from his grip. His hand hovered reel, preparing to tug the line in, but he was suddenly breaking into a cold sweat. With one last effort, he gripped onto the reel and began turning it, dragging the fish out of the water-

"_Come on, Naruto!" _Called a voice that was definitely not Sakura's, but had the same shimmery and musical quality to it. "_Don't you want to play?"_

Naruto mentally dropped the fishing rod, as it was no longer needed; everything was coming back in a flood of forgotten memories, overwhelming him. He held his head in his hands, forgetting that Sasuke was in the room with him.

A face swam into view in his mind's eye, rippling as if it was an image cast into disturbed water before it evened out and he could see her perfectly. _Sakura…? _No, this girl looked like her, but she was definitely not Sakura. She had brown hair, she was tanned like Naruto, and her nose was longer and freckles were scattered across her nosebridge as if ink were flicked from a brush onto her face.

"_Don't be a scaredy-cat! You're already eight, you should be a big boy by now!" _Eight years old? Who was this girl?

Slowly, pictures rippled into place just as the face had. It was like Naruto was watching a movie, an entire screenplay of his life that he'd never thought he'd experienced. _"Airi, he's too fast! He always catches me!" _That was definitely Sakura's voice…but Airi?

"_He's my brother! Of course he's fast, just like me!" _Brother? He had a sister?

All of a sudden, it was like a click; like the last missing puzzle piece that you put into a puzzle that made the picture whole. _"Fiiine…"_

"_Alright!" _Airi's voice giggled. _"You're It!"_

"_What? Whyyyyy?"_

"_Ready, get set, GO!"_

"No," Naruto whimpered, catching Sasuke's attention. He quickly jumped over the table and sat by Naruto's side, putting an arm around the boy.

_It was a sunny day, but an inexplicable chill was carried by the wind. "I'm going to get you, Airi!" Naruto was laughing, running without a care in the world. Airi was giggling uncontrollably, her shoulder-length hair bouncing off her shoulders._

"Noo…" Naruto moaned. He wanted nothing more than to emerge from those memories, but now, there was no way to stop them.

"_Airi-" Sakura's voice began, but neither Naruto nor Airi paid any heed to her. Naruto's focus was entirely on chasing after his sister, their laughter bubbling behind them._

"No…stay away from there!" Sasuke drew Naruto in closer, seeing his body shudder.

"_Naruto, stop!" Sakura screamed. _

"_Huh?" Naruto looked back at her at the words, and then-_

"No," Naruto whispered.

_Time seemed to slow. His ears wouldn't function, and his throat was ripping itself apart, yelling something that no one could hear. The thump, the squealing of brakes was the only sound. His eyes filled with tears, and suddenly there was another sense lost; through the blurry veil he could see the red and white dress of Airi fluttering in the wind, as if she was still running, coaxing Naruto into chasing her._

Tears were coursing freely over Naruto's cheeks, but he didn't care. He just wanted to escape the mental hell.

_Time sped up again, but all Naruto could feel was numbness, spreading everywhere from his brain to the tips of his fingers and toes. 'It's not what you think it is,' his mind supplied desperately. 'She's still here, she's right there! Go on, you can go over and she'll be perfectly alright. She'll smile and laugh, and you can go right back to chasing her!'_

_Sakura was screaming, servants were gathered all around the limousine. 'They're just checking that she's alright. And she is.' In a trancelike state, Naruto took a step forward, but was immediately caught by another servant._

"_There now, poor baby," she whispered. 'Why is she crying?' Naruto thought faintly. "Let's get you inside."_

"_But….what about my sister?" His voice sounded strangely distant._

"_Your mother's taking care of her now," the servant replied, hiding a hiccup._

_Naruto couldn't keep his eyes off the scene. Why were there so many servants around? Why was his adoptive mother crying and screaming all over his dad? What was going on?_

Naruto was sobbing now, his shoulders shaking and sharp gasping breaths forcing their way into his lungs.

_As soon as the servant dropped Naruto off, locking the door securely, Naruto found himself seated next to Sakura._

"_Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed happily. "When do you think Airi will be well enough to play again?"_

"_You idiot." Sakura turned slowly to face him, her eyes red-rimmed and her face shining with tears. "This is all your fault._

"_H-huh?" Naruto was confused. He'd never heard so much venom in Sakura's voice._

_Sakura's eyes bore deep into his, her face looking creased and mature far beyond her age. "She's not coming back."_

His rasping breaths were ragged, small and pathetic whimpers occasionally clawing their way up his throat. His heart felt like someone had stabbed it, the piercing pain a constant reminder of what he'd done. It was so great that it seemed to shatter his memory, only to be replaced by another one.

_Both Naruto and Sakura were sitting back to back, dry sobs racking their small bodies as Mebuki knelt before them, valiantly holding back tears of her own._

"_Here, my loves." She extracted a small bottle from her pocket, twisting the cap open and pouring half of the contents into each extended hand._

"_What's this?" Sakura asked, fresh tears pouring down her face. "Will it make Airi-" her voice broke. "Will it make Airi come back?"_

"_Yes, it will. It's just like candy." Mebuki whispered, stroking his hair._

"_It looks like your medicine. Is it medicine?" Naruto hiccupped._

_Mebuki found that she couldn't completely lie. "Of a sort."_

"_Does it make the pain go away?" Naruto whispered, his cheeks tight and shiny from the dried tears._

"_It does."_

"_Even in here?" his little hand, the fingers still chubby with baby fat, clutched at the area above his heart, wrinkling the shirt._

_Mebuki looked skyward at that, as if it would help in trying to keep her own tears at bay and willing them away. "Yes."_

_She handed them each a glass of water, watched as they downed the pills-_

Another memory...

"_Everything is your fault."_

"_Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked groggily. "What are you talking about?"_

"_I can't remember anything. And it's your fault, just like everything _always_ is."_

"_What are you-"_

His memories began making less and less sense the more Naruto became distressed. He snapped out of his trance, looking confusedly up at Sasuke and at everything around him before curling up into a ball, setting his feet on the edge of the couch and hugging his knees, on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered gently, concerned.

Naruto sniffled. "I remember everything now."

"And?"

Naruto gazed up at him, and Sasuke found his own heart twinge at the sight of the lifeless, glassy blue eyes, at the haunted shell of what used to be Naruto. "She was right." He sobbed once more, but there were no more tears to spill. "She was always right."

"Naruto-" Sasuke tried to console him, but Naruto only shook the arm around his shoulders off and stood.

"I'll see you back in our room, I guess." he rasped, and his voice was strained because it was all he could do to keep from yelling, screaming to the heavens how sorry he was, from screaming and never stopping. He clenched his fist, opened the door, and walked until he was out of sight down the hall with his head down low.

Sasuke rushed after him, but was stopped by Itachi.

"He needs some time alone," the older man rumbled.

At that moment, the room next door burst open, and Sakura ran out. She was sobbing loudly and uncontrollably, her skirt flowing between her legs as she ran in the opposite direction.

"I take it that it didn't go well for either of us?" asked Sasuke gloomily.

Itachi shook his head.

"They must be in shock. Maybe it would have been better if we-"

"If we what?" Itachi snapped. "We both agreed that it was the right thing to do, and now that it's been done, there's no going back. The most we can do at this point is help them through their sorrows."

"Look at them, Itachi," Sasuke whispered miserably, uncharacteristically compassionate. "They're both in so much pain."

Itachi was silent, a sliver of moonlight illuminating half of his face in an eerie bluish light. "Get some rest," he finally told Sasuke. "We'll deal with it as it comes."

But Sasuke didn't budge. "My marriage is in two months, Itachi. What if they don't overcome it by then?"

Itachi bent, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Hey, do they look like they're weak? They _will_ overcome it. No matter how long it takes. You don't have to worry about your marriage." The mischievous grin was back. "But, actually, you do have something about your marriage to worry about."

"What?" Sasuke asked nervously.

Itachi bent down even further, putting his mouth right next to Sasuke's ear. "Whether you're marrying the right person or not." He whispered. With a final wave, Itachi disappeared into the dark of the hallway, leaving Sasuke standing motionless with the words still echoing in his head.

He didn't need that little voice to tell him so anymore. The cliff was empty, devoid of all life, because Sasuke had long since given up on trying to delay the inevitable. Now all he needed was a way to articulate it .

* * *

**A/N: **Two chapters in one day? I'm spoiling you all. Fair warning, though, the next two or so chapters are probably going to be very short. And this story is also drawing to a close, because there's simply no way to drag it on anymore :PP


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **So I think I've covered all the plotholes, but let me know if there's anything I missed. Also, I updated this really soon after chapter twelve, so make sure you didn't skip chapter thirteen before reading this C: By the way, I'm sorry that this one is so short, but I hope the ending of this one makes up for it. Review and I shall love you forever, matey.

**Disclaimer: **Kiba doesn't get enough love, in my opinion. So, since I've had a crush on him since I was around five, I'd gladly take him :33 *gets slapped by Kishi*

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Sasuke cracked the door open, fumbling in the darkness as he slipped through the gap and entered his room.

"Hey." Sasuke jumped at the sound of the cracked voice, realizing Naruto was awake and closing the door silently behind him.

"What're you doing awake?" he whispered, feeling his way over to the bed and pulling back the covers.

Naruto looked over as he felt the bed indent from Sasuke's weight. "Couldn't sleep, I guess." He looked back over to the bright moon shining through the window, wondering if howling at it would make him feel better.

Sasuke pushed himself up so that he was sitting against the headboard alongside Naruto. "Feeling alright?"

"More or less. Quite good, if you consider the fact that I've just remembered that I'm a murderer." Naruto laughed bitterly.

"It wasn't your fault," Sasuke said quietly and firmly.

"Yes it was. Sakura had every right to treat me like the animal I am."

"None of it was your fault," Sasuke growled.

"I _chased_ her into the driveway, Sasuke." Naruto looked at Sasuke, meeting his eyes. "I killed my own sister."

"It wasn't you!" Sasuke snarled. He wanted to get Naruto angry, to goad him out of his misery. Anything would be better than the constant pain in the blue eyes, where only a shadow of their previous livelihood resided. "That incident doesn't have _any_ effect on who you are today!"

"But it does." Naruto said it as calmly as if he were reciting the weather forecast. "I'm a killer."

"You didn't do it on purpose!" Sasuke snatched the front of Naruto's shirt, bringing their faces so close that they could smell toothpaste on the other's breath. "This whole goddamn incident doesn't define you! The reason we even told you was so that you could let go of your past!"

"You don't understand, Sasuke!" Naruto's voice had risen, carrying hints of frustration now. "I remember _everything!_ Even though I was adopted, she was my sister and my best friend! And I got rid of that for a _fucking_ game!"

"I know that if she were still here, she wouldn't have blamed you." Sasuke let go of the shirt, breathing hard through his nostrils. "And she would have wanted you to carry on."

Naruto snorted in disgust. "Now you just sound like you're reciting lines from a teenager's love story. You don't know what it's like, knowing that you killed your best friend."

"You're right." Naruto's eyes widened at Sasuke's confession. "I don't know, and I may never know. All I know is that for the longest time, I didn't even have a best friend."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Sasuke beat him to it. "I didn't have a friend until I met you. And now I know that having one is the best feeling in the world. And seeing you like this-" Sasuke broke off, his voice desperate and frustrated, turning with emotion. "It's killing me just as much as it is you."

Naruto was silent, unsure of how to respond. Each one that flicked through his head was either too brash, too ridiculing, or too weak. Eventually, the only thing he could bring himself to say was, "Get some rest, Sasuke."

"You too." Sasuke slid down until he was laying on his back, turning over so that Naruto could see nothing but the mussed spikes at the back of his head. Slowly, his breathing evened out, alerting Naruto that Sasuke had fallen asleep.

Naruto crouched against the headboard, purposefully digging the ridges and grooves of the bed's intricate carvings into his back. He was scared to fall asleep, scared of the nightmares that were sure to come. His eyelids kept drooping, but each time Naruto would press his back harder into the uncomfortable ridges. The stars twinkled at him, as if mocking him, and the wind carried the faint sounds of a child's high pitched giggles.

* * *

Over the next three weeks, Sasuke became increasingly worried about Naruto. He was doing a damn good job as far as concealing his sorrow, laughing and joking boisterously as usual with Kiba and the other servants, but Sasuke knew that when he thought no one was watching, Naruto would collapse in on himself, slumping and dragging his feet as he walked. He seemed to be avoiding Sakura at all possible cost, and Sakura seemed to be doing the same for Naruto. On the few plus sides of the situation, whenever Sakura did run into Naruto, she would offer him a polite if not distant greeting, never shouting at the blonde anymore.

Naruto, on the other hand, wished with all his heart that Sakura would slap him, yell at him, or beat him. Her politeness made him feel all the worse for what he'd done in the past, and he wished that Sakura would take her anger out on him. It would be far more forgiving on her part, because at the very least he would be good for something. He spent almost all of his waking hours grieving over the loss of his sister, and then he would feel disgusted with himself for all of his self-pity. He'd tried to drown the guilt and all of his self-hatred in happy memories, in images of people he loved and of all his friends, but it seemed that his inner turmoil could swim.

Naruto only ate when he absolutely needed to. He had to force himself out of bed and out to do his duties. Even hanging out with Kiba no longer held the same carefree happiness; Kiba could read him like an open book, and despite his best efforts to cheer Naruto up, the blonde could never quite meet his eyes. At night, he would toss and turn, unable to sleep. Often, he would wake up Sasuke, who would give him whispered words of encouragement before he fell asleep again. The few hours Naruto did get of sleep were plagued by nightmare after nightmare, and Naruto would often wake up with Sasuke looming over him with concern, his shirt plastered to his skin with sweat and a metallic taste in his mouth. Even Kurama noticed, made obvious by the fox curling up on his chest or on his lap, refusing to leave his side for long and giving long, reassuring licks to his face.

Even though he was practically pampered with extra attention, from Tsunade and Shizune, Kiba, Sasuke, and even Mebuki and Kizashi who gave him time off to recuperate, Naruto felt more alone than ever before.

"Naruto," Sasuke shook him awake. "Time to get up."

Naruto gave a muffled groan, but his eyes were already wide awake. "What for?" he asked dully.

"Breakfast with the King and Queen."

"I'm not hungry."

Sasuke grabbed his arm, rolling Naruto over to face him. "Yes you are. Your hipbones are jutting out and I can see your ribs."

"I'm really, really not that hungry," Naruto insisted, glowering.

"Don't make me make that into an order," Sasuke warned.

"Fine, fine," Naruto rolled his eyes, sitting up and grabbing his clothes from where they were discarded on the floor.

Sasuke waited patiently while Naruto got dressed, tapping his foot on the ground and resting all of his weight on one leg. "Come on, then."

They made their way in silence to the dining room, where Sasuke took a seat next to Sakura and across from the King and Queen. Naruto stood behind Sasuke's chair, his hands clasped behind his back and waiting politely for orders.

"Naruto!" Kizashi called jovially. "Grab a seat, my boy!"

Sakura visibly stiffened at the words as Naruto tentatively took a seat next to Sasuke, grabbing a fork and busying his hands nervously with it. Servants filed into the room from the kitchen, carrying the traditional dishes with shiny silver domes on top. They placed one dish in front of each member at the table and whisked off again.

The family ate in silence for the first few minutes before Kizashi attempted to crack a joke.

"Dad!" Sakura protested, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Sasuke.

Mebuki laughed, and soon Sakura joined in, followed by Sasuke to be polite. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Naruto had his eyes fixed on his untouched food.

"Eat, Naruto," he hissed, not paying attention to any of the conversation at the table.

"What about you, Sasuke?"

"Hm?" Sasuke whipped his head around to look at Kizashi.

"Aren't you excited for the wedding?" Kizashi smiled. "After all, it's in less than a week, if I'm not mistaken."

"Less than a week?!" Sasuke almost yelled. Naruto's head shot up at the new piece of information as well. "I thought it was still two weeks until the ceremony!"

"Well, it turns out that some of our relatives in the north have to go overseas to supervise the building of a new city, so we've pushed the date a few days earlier. The civilians have all been notified as well."

"Civilians?"

"Yes, Sasuke," Kizashi replied after swallowing his food. "Royal weddings, especially important ones," he winked at this, "Are held in front of the entire province. They'll be watching you two as well."

Naruto stood abruptly. "Please excuse me, Your Majesties. I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite this morning."

Mebuki looked worried as she glanced at his still untouched plate. "Of course, Naruto."

Naruto gave her a brief nod before collecting his plate and his silverware, leaving the table and entering the kitchen.

As soon as he entered the empty room, he crossed over to the sink, where he emptied the contents of his plate into the garbage and set it on top of the pile of other plates, bowls, forks, and knives. He leaned over the basin of water, staring at his reflection as he began flooding himself in guilt and pain once more. He couldn't control it; it was like a voice in the back of his head, telling him how he'd wronged his family, how it was all his fault.

His breaths became ragged and heavy, his reflection rippling as his breath skipped over the water. He saw himself, gaunt and with an unhealthy grey pallor, his eyes without their usual luster. Others could have looked at him and seen a normal boy, but to him, it was the face of a killer. _Murderer,_ the voice in his mind taunted, reminding him. His mind was playing tricks on him, he saw reflection's eyes turn completely black with red irises, an evil smirk on his lips with elongated canines peeking over his lips. Quickly, he cleaved through the water with one hand, ripping the reflection into shimmering waves so that he couldn't see it anymore.

He threaded his fingers into his bangs, his nose in the crook of his wrist, shutting his eyes tightly. It was too much to bear, the throbbing in his heart and the raw knowledge that the blood flowing through his veins had no right to keep him alive. He wanted a way to end it all, to end the suffering of himself as well as the people around him. No one would care, the voice supplied helpfully. _They'd be glad to see you gone. So what's stopping you?_

Naruto opened his eyes, hyperventilating now. He stared at the delicate blue and green veins lining the inside of his wrist, his eyelashes tickling the flesh whenever he blinked. He removed his hand from his bangs, staring at it like he'd never seen a hand before.

A glint of sunlight off metal caught his eye, and he looked into the sink. A knife was balanced precariously on the top of the pile of dirty dishes, sunlight shining off of it. Naruto could see the reflection of his pained gaze in it, the blue eye on the metal blinking back at him. _What's stopping you, murderer?_ The little voice asked dimly. He flexed his fist, making the veins stand out as he stared at the knife.

He saw how the rest of his life would be with the knowledge that he was a killer.

Hated.

Friendless.

Cold.

Meaningless….

_Meaningless. _The word echoed in the caverns of his mind as he looked down at the sharpened, serrated metal of the knife, a cold feeling numbing his body, the knife almost…tempting him. His harsh, panicky breaths were the only sounds that he could hear.

He reached a hand out . . . and he grabbed it.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Uuuuh. *squints at screen* for some reason my FanFiction is malfunctioning, it says I have 100 reviews. *looks closer* do I really?

Thank you. Every single one of you guys that's still following this story. Squeeee

**Disclaimer: **Naruto isn't mine. Kiba still needs more love though. Ms. Kitty Tokyo Uzumaki agrees with me. (Kudos to you, KTU.) Also, if you look really close, you'll find a line of poetry from the infamous Shan Koyczan, my favorite poet. Chances are you'll find a lot more references to him in the near future of my stories.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Something was definitely wrong. Sasuke could feel it, as if it were a sixth sense; his hands were shaking and his palms were sweaty, cold chills running down his back in quick succession. He kept glancing nervously at the door to the kitchen, wondering what Naruto was up to. It had been way too long for him to simply be putting his dirty dishes away, and by the way Sakura was glancing at the door every so often as well, she found it as equally strange. The tension built at the table, an oppressive layer suffocating Sasuke.

"May I go check on Naruto?" he asked bluntly, standing.

Sakura pushed back her chair, the legs squealing on the marble floor. "I'll go," she said with a commanding air, standing.

Mebuki and Kizashi were both bemused. "You are both excused," Mebuki said graciously.

Sakura was walking toward the kitchen before Sasuke could even say "thank you." Her heels clacking on the floor, she drew closer and closer to the kitchen…

Naruto was fully hyperventilating at this point. Tears were streaming down his face, flooding over the carefully erected dam that he'd put up in an effort to keep from crying any more over the weeks. The voice was still there, and others as well, whispering encouragement in his ear. Without really hearing, Naruto poised the knife over his wrist, his heartbeat speeding up and thumping even harder as if to remind Naruto that he was _alive,_ that his heart was still beating. His vision began swimming in and out of focus as he ran his thumb over the ridges of the blade, checking to see if the knife was sharp enough to cut through the delicate veins. He shook his head to clear it, steeled his nerves, and tensed his muscles to swipe the knife downwards.

Unconsciously, Sakura sped up her footsteps, reaching out and wrapping her fingers around the doorknob. She could hear Sasuke behind her, his long strides easily catching up with her shorter, quicker ones. She wrenched the door open to see-

Naruto didn't hear the door bang open, too immersed in his own world. He raised the knife before-

Sakura lunged at Naruto, grabbing his wrist with one hand and holding her hand out to stop the slice of the knife. She cringed at the barely felt pain before closing her fist, grabbing the knife by the blade and throwing it in the opposite corner of the room.

Naruto stared at his empty hand in shock. "Sakura-chan..? Oof!"

Sakura had let go of his wrist and dived at Naruto, hooking her arms underneath his and drawing his body to hers. "You stupid idiot," she sobbed, tears now flowing down her face as she pressed her nose into his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of lavender and soap lingering on his clothes. "Don't ever, _ever," _she tightened her armsaround Naruto's chest, "scare me like that again."

Naruto didn't know what to do. His arms hung awkwardly at his sides, the girl he'd loved for years was hugging him and crying into his left shoulder. Slowly, he brought his arms to rest around her waist, wondering why the butterflies that usually accompanied situations like the one he was in weren't there. "I'm sorry," he whispered, burying his nose into Sakura's hair.

She pulled away slowly, her hand coming up to brush away strands of hair that had stuck to the sheen of tears on her face. Naruto grabbed her hand, frowning in horror.

"Your hand," he muttered, grabbing a nearby towel and wiping away the blood that dribbled down her wrist. "I'll get it fixed for you-"

"No," Sakura smiled at him. "I'll get it done myself."

"Sakura, I'm sorry." Naruto whispered, his eyes wide and apologetic. "I'm sorry for everything that I've ever done-"

"Shhh," she put a hand to his lips. "I'm the one who's sorry, for all the years of torment I put you through."

"No, don't be," Naruto started, but Sakura had already begun walking toward the door.

"I'll get this cleaned up. For now, you have someone else to apologize to," she answered, gesturing to someone behind Naruto. Naruto turned and started upon seeing the twisted mask of relief, anger, and pain showing on Sasuke's usually emotionless face.

"You stupid usuratonkachi," Sasuke whispered hoarsely. Naruto began to feel a bit intimidated; Sasuke was so close that he had to crane his neck back to look up at him. Sasuke drew a fist back, and Naruto closed his eyes, knowing that he fully deserved the punch that was sure to come, but as Sasuke's fist came down he only felt a gentle nudge at his jaw that turned his face to the side. "Don't ever do that again."

Naruto grinned brightly, receiving another mock punch to the shoulder. "Ow. So you do have a heart after all, Sasuke! Don't worry," he spoke in a mocking, condescending voice, "You can be sure that I won't ever do something like that ever again-ack!"

"Like hell I'm trusting you," Sasuke scoffed, kneeling and pushing his shoulder into Naruto's hips and standing back up with Naruto slung like a sack of flour over his shoulder. "You just tried to fucking kill yourself, I'm bringing you to Tsunade."

"WHAT?! Put me down!" Naruto yowled, punching at Sasuke's back. "No, you don't understand!" Naruto yelled desperately, yelping again as Sasuke suddenly took a step forward, carrying him out of the kitchen and straight to the stairway. He could feel both Kizashi and Mebuki's eyes staring at them in amusement, and Kizashi's hearty laughter rang out a minute later. "Tsunade's gonna _kill _me if she hears of this!"

"Good," Sasuke hoisted Naruto up, his shirt tightening around his midriff as Naruto grabbed the back of it. "You deserve it."

"Sasuke, come on! We're best friends, aren't we?"

"I don't know, are we?" Sasuke smirked.

"Bastard, you're _my_ best friend! Shouldn't that be enough?"

Despite himself, Sasuke felt a whirlpool of pleasure in his chest at the words. "I still don't trust you. You're such a dobe, you'd just mess everything up for yourself again."

"No! I swear I won't! Sasukeeeeeeh!"

Sasuke began purposefully putting a spring in his step, jolting Naruto even more as they reached the top of the staircase.

Naruto twisted his body so that he could grab onto Sasuke's free shoulder, pulling his legs up further so that he could drape momentarily like a scarf around Sasuke's neck. "PUT ME DOWN!" he screamed into Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke felt a flush come over his face. The way Naruto was shaking up and down caused the blonde's soft lips to graze against his ear, sending thrills of pleasure down into the pit of his stomach even though his ear was still ringing.

Whatever Naruto expected, it wasn't that Sasuke would put a hand behind Naruto's head, pushing it forward and actually holding Naruto in place around his neck. Naruto tried to knee Sasuke in the chin, but the arm trapping his legs against Sasuke's chest was too strong.

"Who are you, Nate Hill?!"

Sasuke chuckled. "Of a sort." They entered the infirmary like that, much to Shizune's amusement and Tsunade's disapproval.

"You again?!" she roared. "How many times a week do you get injured?"

"He tried to slit his wrists," Sasuke replied calmly. The speed of which the blood drained from Naruto's face was comical, made complete by the absolute horror in his eyes and the jaw dropping.

Tsunade looked taken aback momentarily before stepping forward and giving Naruto a great whack on the head, making his chin bang into Sasuke's shoulder. "You just reached a new level of stupid, gaki," she hissed menacingly, making Naruto wrap his arms and legs tighter around Sasuke and cower (much to Sasuke's delight).

"And you, a new level of terrifying," Naruto choked out.

Sasuke swore he saw Tsunade's eyes begin glowing evilly. "I'll beat those suicidal desires out of you yet, brat," she chuckled darkly.

"Please don't," Naruto cracked a grin, only to let out a shout as Sasuke dumped him on the ground at Tsunade's feet. "Sasuke!"

"You're on your own now!" Sasuke gave him a little wave before leaving Naruto alone with the now smirking Tsunade.

"Guess your little boyfriend's not going to protect you after all," Tsunade advanced on Naruto.

"Uh…" Naruto crawled back until his back hit the glass doors. "Shizune-neechan," he pleaded, only receiving a pitying look in return. "Baachan, please," Naruto whimpered nervously, trying to make his signature puppy eyes.

"Too late!" Tsunade pounced and Naruto let out a shrill scream.

"Nooo! Sasuke, HELP!" He dug his fingernails into the carpet, protesting loudly the entire way, but no one was there to hear them.

* * *

"Man," Kiba held his sides, still recovering from his bout of hysterical laughter he'd experienced upon seeing Naruto turned into a steaming pile of goo that had been gingerly pushed out of the infirmary by Shizune and a broom handle. "That Tsunade goes hardcore on you."

Naruto could do nothing but nod, his eyes glassy and traumatized tears sliding in huge waterfalls down his cheeks.

"She really loves you, eh?" Naruto sputtered in outrage at the statement, but Kiba sat down next to him, his back against the wall. "But really, I'm worried about you. Feeling alright?"

"Yeah, really. I don't know what came over me in there," Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "But I've gotten over it since."

"Are you sure?" Kiba asked seriously. "If you ever need anything, you know you can come to me, right?"

"Yeah, Kiba. You're my best friend." Naruto thought for a moment before smirking. "Well, second best now."

"WHAT?!" Kiba shouted in fury. "Who's the fucker that replaced me, then?!"

"Sasuke." Naruto's grin grew wider.

"Che," Kiba mumbled. "I have an idea; how about you make _me_ your best friend again," he puffed out his chest importantly, "And have Sasuke be, oh, I don't know, your…"

"Best, best friend?" Naruto suggested.

"I was thinking more along the lines of lover, boyfriend, _husband." _Kiba leaned toward Naruto with a predatory look in his eyes.

"What?!" Naruto pushed the man away. "No way, I haven't got a chance! He's about to be married!"

"I'd help you gatecrash."

"Son of a bitch, get away. I don't even swing that way."

"Now you don't," Kiba patted Naruto's head condescendingly as he stood, "But sooner or later, it's going to hit you." He began walking away, but not before calling out a last, "And by then it'll be too late."

Kiba's words stuck, as they always did. Over the next few days, Sasuke had no choice but to accompany Sakura everywhere. With only six more days until their marriage, everyone in the castle was tense and busy, but none more so than Sakura. She'd gone over the guest list seven times with Sasuke and reviewed the arrangements over nine. Sasuke had to admit that Sakura had gotten much more tolerable since the incident with Naruto, but she was someone he'd like to have as a close friend rather than a wife.

All this was affecting Naruto as well. He had a much wider range of chores because of the huge celebration that was coming, and he was doing his chores whenever Sasuke had any time to talk. When Naruto got off of his duties, Sasuke was talking with Sakura. They would often wander around the castle with each other, waving merrily as Naruto passed with Kurama sleeping on his head. Naruto would give them a tight-lipped smile back before carrying on, his jealousy so strong that Kurama could practically taste it in the air. The only problem was that Naruto wasn't sure who the jealousy was directed at anymore.

One day passed, then two, then three, and it all became clear, but Kiba had been right; it was far too late. Each night as Sasuke came back to their room, as Itachi continued living in Naruto's so he could attend the wedding, they would climb onto the bed together and talk. Just talking. It didn't matter to either of them that they weren't doing anything, because they were happy just sitting next to one another. The times that they touched lingered for far longer than they should have, but neither cared and both wanted the moment to last before Sasuke was gone. Still, the day of the wedding was upon them far too soon, and their laughter and teasing insults had developed a bittersweet taint to them.

On the night of the sixth day, less than twenty-four hours from the big day, Sasuke returned to his room extra late to find Naruto standing at the window on the opposite side of the room, his arms crossed and resting on the ledge and his chin on top of his arms. Sasuke quickly stripped out of his formal attire and changed into a pair of black sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt with the Uchiha Crest emblazoned on the back.

"What are you looking at?" Sasuke inquired, coming over to stand near the blonde.

"The moon. Savoring your last few hours as an unmarried man?" Naruto joked.

"In ways you can't even imagine."

They were silent, and neither budged even as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight.

"You know-" Naruto began, but Sasuke pushed him off of the windowsill and took his place.

"Here," he said, unlocking the latches that held the glass shut and lifting it open. "Climb out."

"What?" Naruto asked, baffled.

"Climb out and use the rain pipe to get to the roof. Shouldn't take you that long, we're on the top floor."

"Uh, I'm not sure this is a good idea," Naruto worried even as he slid his legs out the window. "Are you sure that rain pipe will hold?"

"This is a castle we're talking about, probably cost millions to build. Of course it'll hold."

There was the sound of hollow banging as Naruto climbed up, yelping as he grabbed the edge of the roof and hauled himself up to sit on the steeply slanted edge. He peeked over, his stomach rolling at the long distance from the ground. "Alright, I'm up."

It wasn't long until Sasuke was pulling himself up too, his pale skin seeming to glow under the light of the full moon.

"What are we doing on the rooftop again?" Naruto asked, his fists clenched tight and feeling as if the cool spring breeze would blow him off.

"Come on." Sasuke stood, followed closely by Naruto, until they reached a window inlaid into the slanted roof, providing them with a flat ledge to sit on while their blacks rested on the angled surface of the glass.

"You still haven't answered my question," Naruto complained, trying to ignore the fact that the ledge was so small that he and Sasuke were forced to sit so that they were pressed against each other from the side of their thighs all the way to their shoulders.

"Look up."

Naruto did as told, and immediately a bedazzled expression overcame his previously irked one. "Whoa."

Sasuke agreed. As the castle was far from the location of any nearby cities that spewed out pollution every day, the night sky was clear and bright.

"I've never seen this before," Naruto breathed. His eyes roved from the moon to the clusters of stars, his outstretched finger tracing out galaxies. The murky pinks, greens, greys, and blues glowed around the galaxy stretching out over the sky like a rainbow, the black canvas only making the colors seem even more vibrant.

Sasuke looked over and felt his throat clench at the sight of Naruto's rapturous expression, his large blue eyes twinkling more than any star ever could. With the white light pouring over his skin, highlighting the accents of his nosebridge, cheekbones, and his whiskers, Sasuke could have mistaken him for an angel sent from the heavens.

"When I was a kid," Naruto began quietly, "I used to be fascinated with space." He chuckled to himself, finger tracing out the constellation of Orion's Belt. "Still am, in fact."

"Oh?" Sasuke asked, his eyes never leaving Naruto's face. In his opinion, the beauty of the night sky itself paled in comparison.

"Yeah. Mostly about black holes." Naruto sucked in a deep breath. "I learned that near a black hole, time slows. Inside a black hole, time stops altogether."

Sasuke turned his gaze to the sky, his mind trying to fathom that such an occurrence could happen way out there.

"Whether or not this theory will ever be proved," Naruto said as though he'd recited those lines many times before, the eloquence and flow of which they rolled off his tongue sounding as if he were singing a song, "I've moved to believe that this would be the perfect place to love someone."

"I think it would be, too." Sasuke agreed.

Naruto gave a soft bark of laughter. "Guess I know where your honeymoon's going to be, then," he whispered. Only a deaf man would be able to miss the tangible sorrow in his voice.

"No," Sasuke whispered back, still staring at the sky. Naruto looked at him in faint surprise. "Marriage is different from love."

"You'll learn to love her. Don't worry, it's almost dangerously easy to fall in love with-"

"You." Sasuke finished.

"Huh?"

Sasuke fixed Naruto with the most intense gaze he'd ever seen. "If I were to enter a black hole," Sasuke said firmly, "I would only go with one person. You."

"Me?" Naruto asked uncertainly.

Sasuke continued staring at him, his black eyes rolling with unidentifiable emotion. It might have been Naruto's imagination, but it seemed as if they were getting closer and closer….

And then they were kissing, their lips moving in together in a river of passion and gentleness, the way their lips interlocked together felt as if they were hand-crafted to fit each other. Neither one thought of anything but the present, of getting enough of the other while they still had each other. The kiss was passionate and the air thrummed with their emotions, but it never slipped past anything but chaste. They separated far too soon, gazing at each other in a new light.

Finally, Naruto looked away, a faint blush staining his cheeks. "Love's weird," he mumbled, shattering the moment.

"Yeah," Sasuke smiled, leaning forward and slipping another kiss onto Naruto's cheek. "It sucks."

"Ah, well," Naruto shyly intertwined his fingers with Sasuke's. "It's a tricky little beast, but it's one that we'll tame." He announced in a mock-pompous voice.

Sasuke pulled Naruto over, nestling the blonde's head onto his shoulder and trapping it there by resting his head on top. "For what it's worth, Naruto, I love you."

"You are too damn cheesy," Naruto teased. "But I kind of might love you too."

* * *

Tsunade looked up from her work as a shadow crossed the moonlight filtering in, scowling and reaching for her desk lamp. What she saw surprised her, as two bodies were pressed to the window next to each other; she could faintly make out the mess of blonde hair and the Uchiha symbol against the glass. Their hands were locked together in the cramped space between them, and it appeared that they both were fast asleep.

Keeping the smile off her lips was impossible. _Damn brats and their love affairs._ She sat back, watching them, for a moment longer before abandoning her work and preparing to leave the infirmary. She cast her glance up one last time before opening the door. "Good night," she whispered into the darkness, before smiling and closing the door behind her.

* * *

**A/N: **Next chapter might be the last. Or maybe I'll add one more after that…or two. Was that scene too cheesy? E.e I feel like I overdid it a bit. Review and tell me what you think, please? :33 See you troopers later! -Sarge


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **It's come rather late, but it's here nonetheless.

**Disclaimer:** You all know what I'm going to say here.

**Warning: **Shameless cheese, slightly OOC Sasuke, stupid fluff.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Naruto blinked his eyes open, shivering as a cool morning breeze swept over him. He tried to shift his body, but instead went stock still: waves of pain shot from his tailbone up to the base of his skull, all of his muscles aching like they were on fire. Naruto hissed slightly from the pain, laying back down in his original position. He was startled to feel an arm tighten around him, opening his eyes and forcing himself to sit up.

"What time is it?" Naruto asked in confusion, stretching out his back despite the pain and hearing a loud cracking sound as he did so.

"Hm?" Sasuke stirred sleepily behind him, his sides wedged uncomfortably into the shingles of the rooftop.

Naruto surveyed the skyline, seeing a sliver of the sun peeking over the horizon. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, trying to tell him something, but he couldn't remember what.

"Is it morning already?" Sasuke yawned and sat up as well, stretching luxuriously and his voice roughened by sleep.

"Yeah, it's-" Naruto's eyes widened as it hit him. "Oh my god, your wedding!"

"Huh?" Sasuke barely had time to look up before Naruto snatched his wrist and sprinted towards the edge of the roof. "Dobe!" he shouted as the edge came nearer and nearer. Naruto paid no heed to Sasuke, slowing slightly as they reached the edge. "You've got a death wish, haven't you?" Sasuke roared. "Are you mad?!"

"Just a little bit." Naruto flashed Sasuke a view of his brilliant smile before prodding him to the rain pipe. "Get back inside, we need to get you dressed."

Sasuke scowled at being ordered around, but did as asked. Once both Naruto and Sasuke were safely inside their room again, breathing sighs of relief as warmth washed over them, Naruto shut the window and crossed the room to dig busily in Sasuke's closet, throwing clothes at random over his shoulder.

"Usuratonkachi, what are you doing?" Sasuke was cut off as a very expensive looking tailored black suit jacket was thrown over his head. He pulled it off in annoyance, draping it over his arm only to have a folded dress shirt was thrown at his chest. "Will you-" he was cut off once more as a silk tie landed straight into his open mouth. "Will you slow down for a second?" he spat as he removed the tie.

"Sasuke, this is your _wedding!_" Naruto said hurriedly. "The whole country's going to be looking at you, we need you to look perfect!"

Sasuke dropped to the bed with a gusty sigh through his nose. "I don't _want_ to get married," he complained, feeling very much like a child.

"Too bad," Naruto retorted tersely. "It's not like I want you to either." Naruto's voice cracked at those words.

Sasuke smirked slyly at Naruto's back. "We could always ditch, run away like Itachi did, and then get married together."

Sasuke received a belt in his face followed by a set of black slacks for his tease. "Shut up."

Sasuke reluctantly began pulling off his shirt, pulling on the fancy clothes instead. "Isn't there any way out of this?" he asked as he began buttoning the shirt.

"If there was, don't you think Kiba would have exploited them already?" Naruto rushed to the bathroom, getting more supplies. "He's wanted us to get together since the day he saw me staring at you."

"You even had a crush on me back then?" Half of Sasuke's mouth began rising upwards once more.

Naruto poked his head out from behind the doorway, frowning. "No. Rather, it was the opposite. I hated you back then, thought you were a no-good bastard."

"And now?"

"My opinion hasn't changed." Naruto ducked back in, and Sasuke could hear the clattering of the blonde searching in drawers. "It's just that your bastard attitude's grown on me, for some godawful reason. And what did you think of me when you saw me? You chose me, after all, to look after you."

"I thought you were an adorable little thing," Sasuke chuckled at hearing Naruto's splutters. "A right little ray of sunshine amongst those other boring servants. Of course, you were clumsy as hell."

"Not my fault." Naruto came out of the bathroom holding an armful of various styling products in his hands. "Gotten dressed yet?"

"Oh, wouldn't you love to see me naked."

Naruto squinted at Sasuke. "I already regret telling you my feelings. Arrogant, egotistic bastard."

Sasuke smiled mischievously at Naruto as he began running a comb through the black, messy spikes. "You admitted that you love the arrogant, egotistic bastard side of me."

The remark made Naruto tear the comb almost viciously through the tangles, which in turn made Sasuke pull Naruto into his lap. "Will you quit it?!" Naruto snarled. "We're going to be late!"

"Who cares?" Sasuke asked boredly, feeling Naruto begin combing his hair again. "Besides, you're cute when you're angry." Naruto flushed in fury. "See, you get all hot and bothered," Sasuke leered as he stroked a finger down the bridge of Naruto's nose, "and you turn red like a tomato. I _like_ tomatoes."

Naruto punched Sasuke on his high cheekbones. "Quiet, you."

"You know it's true." Sasuke winced as he felt Naruto apply some sort of cold, perfumed gel to his hair, the fingers working efficiently but as gently as if Naruto were handling a baby.

"Does your hair ever stop sticking up like that?" Naruto asked, frustrated as the hair refused to lay flat. He pushed down on the spikes rather roughly, watching in a sort of fascination as they peeled off Sasuke's head and resumed their original position.

"Nope. Believe me, I've tried everything."

"Whatever, it looks nice on you."

"You think so?" Sasuke purred.

"Did I say that out loud?" Naruto mumbled in return, not meeting the playful black eyes. Sasuke had to restrain himself from reminding the blonde that, despite his denial, Naruto was still straddling Sasuke's lap with his knees on either side, forcing Sasuke to bend his head over with his arms.

"Done?" Sasuke asked. He felt the talented fingers stroke through his hair for a few quick touch-ups, the feathery soft touches against his scalp sending thrills down his spine, before Naruto pulled back after lingering far too long.

"One last thing." Naruto grabbed a piece of dark blue silk that he'd tucked into the back of his waistband, pursing his lips around it to free his hands. He fixed Sasuke's collar, folding the material down where it was supposed to, before grabbing the silk and busily tying it around Sasuke's neck, tightening it. Naruto then pushed himself off of Sasuke and grabbed a full-length mirror set at the opposite end of the room, setting it in front of Sasuke. "How does it look?"

Sasuke gave himself a thorough glance up and down his body, faintly aware of Naruto undressing and changing into his usual outfit. His hair was style perfectly; Naruto had even managed to give the clumpy, unruly hair a neat and unique look. His suit fit him perfectly, though the material was thinner than usual, making it hug his body tightly and emphasize his lean physique. The dark blue bowtie helped add more colors while still keeping it formal. Sasuke turned to Naruto. "What do you think?"

Pausing from fixing the vest wrapped around his torso, Naruto stuck his nose in the air, assuming a provocative position with his hand on his hip and a girly, feminine voice: "Absolutely wonderful, dahling."

Sasuke laughed at that, but he winced in the middle of the chuckle and tugged at his collar. "Mind fixing the bowtie for me? It's a bit tight."

Naruto came closer and bent a bit, searching for the knot to loosen the thing. He tugged at it a bit to make it as loose as possible without making it come undone. "There," he announced, straightening, "All done-mmf!"

Sasuke had grabbed Naruto by the lapels of his vest, pulling the man forward so that their lips met in between. Sasuke encased Naruto's soft lips in his own, moving them around and tilting his head farther so that he could kiss Naruto more deeply, savoring the moment. He sucked the blonde's bottom lip into his mouth, swiping his tongue along the length of it and biting gently before letting go.

Naruto was bright red, even redder than Sasuke had ever seen him. "You _ass_, don't do that!"

"Why not?" Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and buried his nose into Naruto's hair.

"You're about to get married in less than five hours, and you're sitting here kissing your bride's servant!" Naruto scolded.

Sasuke only squeezed tighter. "I won't get the chance to do it again afterwards. I'll _lose_ you after the wedding."

"That's not an excuse," Naruto continued chastising Sasuke, but his arms slunk around Sasuke as well, squeezing even tighter.

"I miss you already, stupid dobe," Sasuke breathed, the strands of blonde tickling his nose as they shuddered in his breath.

"I miss you too." Naruto whispered, burying his nose into the familiar scent of peaches and spearmint. "Hey, I'll still be here after it. I can still be your favorite servant," he said after a small pause in a last ditch attempt to cheer Sasuke up.

"Not the same." Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto felt a wave of sadness overcome him, and despite his earlier disapproval, he lifted his head and brought it closer to Sasuke's-

"Oi, Naruto!" Kiba barged into the room, stopping dead at the sight of Sasuke and Naruto millimeters away from each other's lips. "Oh."

"Kiba!" Naruto hissed, quickly distancing himself from Sasuke, who frowned at the loss. "Knock next time, will you?!"

"I'm sorry, Foxface, I didn't know you two were," Kiba wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "getting it on in here."

"Shut up. Why're you here?"

"Oh, Sasuke needs to come down to the throne room for some last minute arrangements. Sakura's still getting ready, so after he gets the work done he can come back up and see you for another few hours before the ceremony starts."

"O-oh," Naruto said with a hint of disappointment. "Alright."

Sasuke almost growled in annoyance, but he managed to hold it in as he stalked out the door. "See you later," he called back over his shoulder before Kiba closed the door tight.

Naruto was just going back to staring out the window before he heard a scratching noise at the door. He opened it curiously, seeing nothing there, but a small red streak suddenly ran up the front of his clothes, hooking its claws into Naruto's shoulder and sitting on its haunches.

"Hey, boy," Naruto grinned, Kurama's tail twitching in response. Naruto grabbed the fox from his shoulder, cradling it in his arms and taking a seat on the bed.

"You're gonna miss him too, won't you?" he asked, the fox purring delightedly, its long tongue snaking out to lick Naruto's hand as he scratched it under the chin. He crossed his legs and continued stroking Kurama, feeling lonelier than ever.

* * *

Sakura was having the time of her life. She was being pampered to no end, it was one of the most important days of her life, and she was getting married to Uchiha Sasuke, the man of her dreams. The only thing that was holding her back from jumping up and down and screaming with joy was Naruto. It was impossible not to notice his feelings; she'd gotten the hint years ago. She'd hoped that Naruto would give up on her, but his feelings had never let up. In fact, it only seemed as if they had gotten stronger. At the news of the wedding, she hadn't missed the look of utmost horror on his face, and she could only hope that Naruto wasn't taking it too hard.

Sakura pushed the worries to the back of her mind and returned to the present, where her maids were measuring her all over with a measuring tape and fitting the white dress to her body. Others were applying makeup to her gentle features, fixing her nails, and rushing about in search of accessories and shoes. All residents of the castle were working themselves to death; she could hear even more servants running and shouting orders outside her room. It would be the first public event the King and Queen hosted in a long time, and the entire evening was planned out with the wedding set in the palace grounds, where the silk-and-marble marquee was being pitched, a banquet inside the dinner hall, and a ball to wrap it all up. All citizens of neighboring cities were invited, and it was sure to be an enormous event. Sakura approved immensely, however; the castle often felt cold, empty, and lonely, too big to accommodate its current residents.

A young maid blew on Sakura's fingernails, drying the last of the pale pink polish. She was led to a large mirror by the others, while a male servant ran behind her to fix one last detail on her dress with a pin he held between his lips.

She took one look at herself and gasped. She'd never felt so pretty before. Sakura stared unbelieving at the girl in the reflection, unsure if she was really Sakura herself or merely a window to another bride's room. Her pink hair was style in an updo, impressively intricate especially because her hair was only shoulder length, and pearls and a beautifully wrought pin sparkling with gemstones held it all in place. The veil around her head was white, tiny iridescent twinkles scattered on the translucent cloth like stars in the night sky. Her dress was _perfect._ A white satin thing hugging her curves perfectly, lace embellishments in the shape of flowers covering the upper half while the lower half cascaded into a waterfall of silk and layers upon layers of sheer fabric trailing behind her. It was covered in swirls and clusters of pearls and diamonds placed just right, and the white gold bracelets and diamond necklaces she wore only served to enhance the beauty of the dress.

"Will you give my utmost thanks to the talented maker of this dress?" she turned to a very pretty girl with soft brown curls framing her face. She looked startled at being addressed.

"Of course, Princess," the girl smiled. Sakura had become much kinder in the weeks since she'd found out the truth about her past.

Sakura beamed, her happiness illuminating her face. At this point, there was absolutely nothing that could go wrong.

* * *

There were three knocks on the door, quelling Naruto's conversation with Sasuke.

"Come in," Sasuke called, a worried look on his face.

"Sasuke-sama." The door opened and a man came in, bowing respectfully. "It's time to go down to the grounds. Your wedding will start in half an hour."

"I was promised more time to myself," Sasuke argued coolly, though internally he was sweating bullets.

The servant began looking uncomfortable, tugging at his collar with a finger. Sasuke noticed without really caring that he was dressed very formally, unlike on most days. "I'm sorry, sir, but Sakura-san is requesting your immediate presence."

Naruto was looking from the servant to Sasuke with a scared, desperate look flickering in his eyes.

"Can I have ten more minutes?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm very sorry, sir, but you'll need to come down immediately."

Sasuke glared at the poor man before relenting. "Alright." He looked at Naruto once more, his entire body yearning to stay and talk forever. "See you later, dobe."

"Back to you, teme." Naruto stared at their retreating backs for a while before jumping off the bed and reaching into the closet to find a blazer. For a moment, as he put the garment on, he considered actually taking up the offer that Kiba had put up; of gatecrashing the wedding.

But as he thought about it, he knew that he wouldn't be able to do that to Sakura, even if he had already realized that he didn't like her in that sense. With a heavy heart and a sigh, Naruto left the room, feeling as if he were leaving a part of him behind in the room, which seemed colder and sadder than before. He barely gave it a backward glance before heading down to see if there was anything he could help with.

* * *

After a few last rushed preparations (which flew by much too soon), Naruto was seated with Kiba in the rows of red and gold chairs arranged in rows under the roof of the marquee. Everything was perfect; even the weather seemed to be celebrating the occasion, as it was a perfect and warm spring day with barely any clouds in the sky. A small crowd of civilians was thronged around the gates, eagerly watching for a glimpse of the princess and soon-to-be prince. The lords were slowly filing in, their wives hanging on their arms, filling up the rest of the seats.

"Hey, that offer to gatecrash is still up," Kiba whispered, ignoring the suspicious glance from the man sitting next to them.

"Nah. She's happy."

"When will you ever learn to be selfish and think about yourself for once, man?" Kiba asked, shaking his head. "Everyone can tell that you're absolutely dreading the marriage."

"It's too late for anything now," Naruto hissed, noticing that the pastor, who was dressed smartly in a black suit and a checkered red tie, was approaching the podium as he whispered with another servant, who was nodding thoughtfully. Sasuke emerged a few seconds later, looking absolutely stunning. He walked like a panther up the red carpeted steps to stand near the pastor, looking about as thrilled with the situation as a college student would be faced with a test.

"But-"

"Drop it!" Naruto sat up straighter as the pastor took his place in front of an intricately wrought bronze arch with soft blue, purple, and white flowers hung along the metal and clear crystal beads dangling in long strands to fill any empty space.

Suddenly, a tinkle of chimes filled the room, silencing the friendly chatter. A soft, mellow tune began ringing through the air, with a light, sparkling quality that made the atmosphere seem enchanted, like there was magic thrumming through the air.

There was a massive wave of turning heads as Sakura stepped in, her eyes brimming with happiness as two girls threw pink and white rose petals in front of her. She was trying to hide the bright grin spreading across her face, but she couldn't hold it back. The music reached its climax and everyone across the country, whether they were watching it live or on a screen, was entranced.

The music softened as Sakura stepped up to join Sasuke in front of the minister, Sasuke taking both of her hands in his and pivoting so that the audience could see both Sakura and Sasuke together. For a split second as Sasuke whirled Sakura around, Naruto thought that they were going to break into dance.

"Ahem." The man cleared his throat, his voice evidently amplified with a discreet microphone. The quiet murmurs amongst the audience quieted, and Naruto noticed two men on either side of a marquee holding up huge professional video cameras, probably for the citizens who were watching the wedding on the television.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family," the pastor smiled, looking all around the room, "We are gathered here to celebrate the joining of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura…"

Sasuke hadn't even been listening, the droning of the pastor fading into a dull hum in the background. He scanned his eyes across the many faces in the audience, all seated with calm expressions and their hands in their laps. Finally, he found what he was looking for: there was Kiba, who was looking as if he wanted nothing more than to kill himself on the spot out of sheer boredom, Itachi, who wore his usual emotionless expression, and Naruto, who looked like he felt exactly the same as he slumped down in his seat. He felt the intense green gaze boring into the side of his face and was forced to look back at Sakura. Even he had to admit, though, that Sakura looked beautiful.

The vows came much too soon.

"And since it is your intention to marry, join your right hands and declare your consent." He waited until Sasuke had clasped Sakura's right hand with his. "Do you take this woman, Haruno Sakura, to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and behold from this day onward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to slow the loud thumping of his heart in his ears; though it felt like the biggest lie he'd ever told, he uttered, "I do."

The pastor turned to Sakura. "Do you take this man, Uchiha Sasuke, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and behold from this day on, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Something changed in the way Sakura's mouth was set. Her eyes darkened momentarily, and she hesitated, something that she'd never thought she would do on this day. Her palms became slick and each passing millisecond felt like hours as her mouth refused to open. She looked at Sasuke, into his eyes, and immediately knew the right thing to do. _After all,_ she thought, smiling wryly, _duty is duty._

"I-" She paused, and for a second the words wouldn't come. She swallowed nervously, trying again.

"I…don't."

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks to the many guests that reviewed this story as well as my others. I wish I could send you a reply personally, but alas, you're a guest and I can't. :C Nevertheless, thanks to ALL of you for leaving your thoughts here and helping me shape my writing into the best it can be. See you later! Sarge out!

*Edit* The song I was listening to while writing this was Forbidden Friendship from How To Train Your Dragon. Not really wedding music, but it's a lovely song ^.^ go check it out, trooper!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **It's nearing the end, guys ;-;

**Disclaimer: ***Ursula voice* You belong…to ME

**Warnings: **OOC characters, short chapter, Jackie Chan quote that I take no credit for, CHEESINESS YOU CAN FLAME AT ME ALL YOU WANT FOR IT because I deserve it T.T I apologize, because I tried over and over to fix it. (Reason why this chapter is so late.)

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

"I…don't."

No one spoke after those words, though eyes widened and jaws dropped, their brains telling their ears that they must have malfunctioned. There was a sound of shattering glass at the far end of the marquee, and still, no one even blinked at the sound that seemed amplified times ten in the heavy atmosphere. All across the country, people dropped whatever they were doing, simply staring in disbelief at the figures in the television screen.

Mebuki and Kizashi looked stunned, almost horrified. Sasuke was frozen in shock as well, not daring to accept what he'd heard. Naruto and Kiba both sported comic expressions that, by the way that their jaws were on the floor, and they couldn't have been more surprised if they'd been nominated President. Only Itachi lounged with a knowing smirk, and Kurama, who was resting on Naruto's lap, had a look so similar to Itachi's that it was almost scary.

After a good three minutes of absolute silence, when Sakura's eyes had begun to shift nervously from side to side, Mebuki stood up with rage apparent in her features.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!"

The scolding caused the rest of the audience to snap out of their trances, though the angry yelling and scathing remarks piercing through the air was just as bad as the silence. Sakura tried to speak, but was cut off again and again by ridiculing shouts. Naruto and Sasuke were still frozen, staring at the place where Sakura used to be standing with blank gazes. She began to turn redder and redder, shaking in fury as more insults were pelted toward her.

"SHUT UP!" she roared over the din. Naruto, who looked up at Sakura, had a feeling that even a megaphone wouldn't be able to make her shout louder. The lords grew silent at once, though they were still glaring at Sakura with sullen eyes.

"You all are acting like _children!_" Sakura shouted. "And you call yourselves authority figures?"

Despite their earlier outrage, many of the men began looking slightly abashed at her words. They shuffled their feet and looked up to Sakura with a much less aggressive manner.

"I choose not to marry this man," she said, her voice still shaking in fury, "because I have no right to." Sasuke's eyes widened. "I'm not a princess!" Sakura called.

There were many confused whispers and mutterings, the hissing noise echoing across the rest of the land.

"I bear no right whatsoever to the throne." Sakura was breathing hard through her nose. "I may be of royal blood, but I am not descended directly from the Queen. Therefore, I can't accept those duties as my own, nor can I trick the Uchiha family into these previously false beliefs."

Naruto had his eyes fixed on Sakura in utmost admiration. For the first time, Sakura wasn't behaving like the spoiled girl she'd used to be; now, Naruto could see that she'd become a woman that, whatever Sakura said, seemed like a queen in every way.

"So?" A lord that had a protruding gut and a greying beard stood. "If there are no descendants from the Royal Family, then it is _you_ who must take that responsibility!" Others joined in, standing up and supporting the lord.

Sakura raised her hand for silence. "There is someone." All protest stopped immediately. "And he's sitting right there." The hand pointed directly at Naruto.

Naruto flushed upon feeling all eyes turn on him, hugging his body closer in modesty under the scrutiny.

"Him?" Another voice called, clearly laden with amusement. "Is this some kind of petty joke, Princess?" There were appreciative chuckles at the words. "He's a mere household servant!"

"He was adopted by my aunt!" Sakura gestured at Mebuki. "He's of royalty!"

The same lord sneered. "He's of lower rank than-"

"He's my family!" Sakura argued.

"You can't even call him your brother; the blood that his veins carry-"

"_He's as good as!"_ Sakura hissed, her eyes flashing. "Uzumaki Naruto should be the rightful descendant of the throne!"

"He hasn't even been trained to take it up!" The clamor rose once more.

"He can learn! Don't treat him like he's a lesser!" Sakura tried to defend Naruto.

"How do we know that his rule would be fair?!" "Don't be silly, that kid will never take up the throne-" "Are you simply trying to run away from your duties?"

The arguments continued building in volume until Naruto thought that the very roof would blow off. Sakura grabbed a tray of champagne flutes and smashed it onto the ground, shocking the lords into silence yet again. The golden liquid dripped sluggishly off the marble steps.

"This is _my_ decision for the good of my family!" Sakura snapped, her frustration building.

"He was never a part of your so called 'family!" A young woman with jewels hanging off the clips in her golden-brown hair stood, pointing at Sakura accusingly. "You must-"

"Family isn't about whose blood you carry!" Sakura glared at the woman with such ferocity that she sat down again, ducking her head. "It's about who you love, and who loves you." At this, Sakura pivoted so that she could look directly at Naruto with a warm, kind look in her gaze that Naruto had never seen before. Kiba rather thought that the look mirrored the one Naruto always harbored when he used to stare at the girl. "A nine year old boy taught me that," Sakura finished, her voice ringing into nothingness in the silence.

The words hit home. Though there were still eyerolls and pointed glances, the lords and ladies began to seat themselves once more, smoothing their ruffled pride. Naruto, unlike the others, rose, with his eyes sparkling with a faraway look in them and his face shining with a sort of radiance that made Sakura's heart melt. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked like he'd just been hit on the head with a sledgehammer.

"Are you-" Naruto's voice broke. Although it was barely more than a whisper in the myriad of others among the audience, Sakura understood.

She simply nodded, a bright and wide grin on her face. She extended a finger and curled it at him, beckoning him forward.

"Wha-" Naruto let out a startled yell escape as Itachi brushed Kurama off his lap, stood up, and hoisted Naruto up and over the rows of heads in front of him, setting him down before the raised steps leading to Sasuke. Before Naruto could say anything, Sakura grabbed his hand and dragged him up the steps, his toes barely grazing the ground before he was flung straight in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke was in shock. Naruto waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Hey, you alright?" he asked, stifling his chuckles.

Sasuke looked up and grabbed Naruto's shoulders. "Tell me I'm not dreaming," he pleaded hoarsely.

Naruto shot him a smile. "You're dreaming."

Sasuke crushed Naruto to him, wrapping his arms tightly around the blonde while trying to convey the impossible amounts of gratitude and happiness in one long look at Sakura over Naruto's shoulder. She deserved a far more eloquent thanks, but Sakura understood.

Slowly, Sasuke loosened his arms and they separated, though their eyes never left each other's faces, the only noise they were aware of was the loud thumping of their hearts. Sasuke's hand drifted to rest at the side of Naruto's face, and the only thing separating their faces was a barrier of their warm breath. Naruto began to blush, still unaware of the millions of eyes trained on them at that moment. He tried to look away, but Sasuke's hand tensed and kept his face in place.

"Dobe," he murmured, a soft light in his black orbs.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed playfully. "Teme," he countered.

Sasuke lowered his face until his was met by Naruto's, a warm flurry of pleasure racing from his lips to his jaw, shooting down to the tips of his fingers and toes.

Kiba stood, cast a condescending glance at the lord sitting next to him who was staring at Naruto and Sasuke with something akin to horror, and began to clap.

Sakura joined in enthusiastically, her eyes bright with unshed tears of happiness. Then Itachi joined in, along with Kurama's squeaky yaps. With two grudging smiles from Mebuki and Kizashi, they too stood and began applauding. Others, who looked toward their King and Queen, hurriedly began following their example, and soon Kiba swore he could feel the very ground trembling underneath their feet as thousands of others joined the celebration.

Naruto unlocked his lips from Sasuke's though he did not pull away: Sasuke could feel them curl upwards, smiling against his own lips. When they eventually did pull away completely and open their eyes, they were both speechless. The only thing they could do was turn around, grab Sakura, and envelop her in hugs so tight that she could not tell whose body was whose.

Sakura pried Naruto's arms from around her waist, laughing the hardest she'd ever laughed in years. She pulled out the flower her maid had tucked in her hair at the last minute and slid it into Naruto's hair, giggling at his bemused expression.

"Which means," she called once more, and the lords grew quieter but not completely silent, "I think this calls for a change of decoration."

The cheers that followed that statement was like an explosion.

* * *

**A/N: **Now that really was cheesy ._. The next chapter will be an epilogue, though I can't guarantee that it will make up for the short length of this chapter, nor the quality of it ^.^ We'll just see what happens. ALSO DID YOU SEE THAT NEW CHAPTER OF NARUTO ASDFGHJKL NO ;-; ugh but I can't spoil anything. Thank you to you all for sticking around C: -Sarge


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: ***salutes with tears pouring down face* Thank you, troopers, for reading this far.

**Disclaimer: **It's been a long journey, mates. Maybe it's time to let you off for a break. *pats Naruto and Kiba*

**Warnings: **Do I always get this damn fluffylovey at the end of every story I write? Also, this is unedited, because I didn't have the time D:

* * *

**Epilogue**

Two long years.

Two years since the incident, of Sakura recanting her marriage. Two years since the day that was quite possibly the happiest in both Naruto's and Sasuke's lives. Two years since the day that their lives had crossed paths and intertwined together, and today was the day that they would bond into one.

A lot of things had happened since that day. After the surprise recantation, Sakura had flung open the gates and was practically run over by the mobs flooding into the castle, crowding around Sasuke and Naruto, all wanting a touch of the keepsakes of such a momentous day. Sakura, of course, had a whole crowd of suitors she had to deal with the entire night.

The ball was an absolute hit, the formal decorations stripped away and the melancholy tune the ensemble on stage replaced by wild guitar riffs and thunderous beats. People cheered and screamed themselves hoarse the entire night, even the uptight lords and ladies, many of which thought was hilarious to see the Prime Minister huffing and puffing his way through the dances. Naruto even led a throng of fans throughout the castle and to the grounds, splashing everything with vibrant orange paint as if they were celebrating in the streets and carrying the party outside in the cool, spring night. It wasn't long before Kiba grabbed the microphone from the self-appointed DJ and screamed, "SLOW SONG FOR THE LOVEBIRDS!" He'd pointed at Naruto and Sasuke and immediately put on a soft love song. Much to Sasuke's horror, he and Naruto had been forced to dance in front of everyone, with Sasuke keeping his hands around Naruto's waist and shuffling around awkwardly as Naruto bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, looking delighted with pent-up energy.

The party had lasted until five in the morning, and all servants were given a well-earned break the next day, but were appointed to paint over the bright orange splashes the day after that. Sasuke offered for him and his fiancé (Sasuke looked extremely pleased when he used the term to describe Naruto) to live in the Uchiha Estate, but both Naruto and Sakura refused vehemently.

"They're family!" both had said with large, pleading eyes.

And so instead of Naruto and Sasuke moving to the Uchiha Estate, Mebuki and Kizashi had ordered the palace and the estate combined. Much to Sasuke's bemusement, Fugaku had looked ecstatic at the idea of his marriage to Naruto instead of Sakura.

Around a year later, at the peak of Naruto's newfound happiness with Sasuke, they'd been having dinner out on the balcony. Naruto had thought it was peculiar, with all the candles and a five-course meal, but the expression on his face suggested that he wanted to die, hug Sasuke, kiss Sasuke, and stab Sasuke all at once when said raven kneeled in front of him, a speech readily flowing from his mouth and his hand bringing out a ring from his pocket.

"T-teme!" Naruto had screamed, his voice at least an octave higher as he scrambled away and tried to hide his blush with an arm. "What are you doing, you baka? Put that thing away!"

"I haven't even given you a proper proposal yet. What kind of husband would I be if I didn't show you how much I want to spend the rest of my life with you?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.

"B-bastard!" Naruto stuttered, hiding his face completely and curling up in his chair as Sasuke advanced on him. "I already know all that stupid stuff!" He let out a very undignified squeak as Sasuke grabbed his hand and slipped the silver band on. Naruto held his hand up, observing the thin, glinting band of silver.

"I hate you," Naruto muttered.

But Sasuke knew he was hiding a smile behind his arms. "Love you too."

Time had flown since then, and already, the new wedding was less than an hour away. Sasuke had been taken down to another room to be prepared, and Naruto had already clad himself in a white suit, refusing the help offered by his formerly fellow servants. The sky turned a fiery orange-red with pink, purple, and yellow streaks as the sun blazed, halfway up from the distant hills. Watching made Naruto feel sluggish, like he wanted to drop down and sleep forever.

But it was too soon for that, Kiba reminded him as he dragged Naruto through the palace and threw him into a limousine, missing Naruto's fingers by a millimeter as he slammed the door.

"Hey," Sasuke smiled at Naruto, grabbing his hand and setting it in his lap.

"Yo," Naruto grinned. "Where are we driving? I thought the wedding was going to be in the ballroom."

"It is, but do you really think that all of them could fit inside?"

"Huh?" Naruto craned his neck past Sasuke's shoulders. His jaw dropped immediately afterwards.

There must have been thousands of cheering onlookers, held back in two great lines by a golden railway, a red carpet in the center of the parted crowd. People were lifting one another into the air, jumping up and down, throwing confetti everywhere; others yet had Uzumaki swirls and Uchiha fans painted on their cheeks, some sported whiskerlike marks in mimic of Naruto's, and some had their hair styled in Sasuke's black spikes and Naruto's blonde, disheveled hair. Naruto had never seen so many people looking so happy and festive together; the crowds must have stretched for hundreds of feet from the palace gates.

The din itself was deafening. The vibrations could be felt even in the car, with sets of speakers pounding out popular songs and people clapping, stomping their feet, and screaming to one another. Naruto couldn't believe that all of them were standing there, celebrating _him, _when only twenty four months ago he had been a mere servant in the midst of dozens of others.

Sasuke was less impressed. "It's going to take days to get them all to go away."

"I wouldn't mind a party that lasted that long."

"Dobe," Sasuke scoffed. "Unless you want our wedding night to be a show, then they're going to have to go."

Naruto looked nonplussed for a moment before he looked at Sasuke so fast that his neck cracked. "W-what the hell does that mean?!" he squeaked.

"You know how bad the fangirls can get. They'll find a way to peek."

"But I mean-" Naruto swallowed, laughing nervously. "Isn't it a little bit too early to think about that just yet? We've barely even kissed!"

Sasuke inspected his fingernails, not reacting at all to the conversation. "It's tradition. Besides, you complain every day about how I'm a 'horny bastard' and how I display too much affection to you."

Naruto flushed, thankful that the glass screen was up between the driver and the couple. "I didn't know you were that cuddly every day! And you kiss me practically every ten minutes, and that's not including how you shove your tongue down my throat every night!"

"Point proven."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Touche. Fine, they'll go." Naruto ducked his head a bit. "But I'm still nervous."

Sasuke sat up immediately, a concerned look on his face. "Hey, I was just kidding. If you don't want to do it tonight-"

"I do!" Naruto interjected quickly. "I've just never done it before."

Sasuke's grip tightened on Naruto's hand. "It'll be okay."

At that moment, the limousine stopped and a man clad smartly in a suit stepped to the vehicle and opened the door for Sasuke and Naruto. "Sirs," he bowed as the two exited, nodding their appreciation.

The noise grew impossibly loud when people caught sight of Sasuke and Naruto walking arm in arm down the aisle. Their smiles were forced and twitching at first, but slowly grew more relaxed and natural as they got used to the hundreds of eyes staring at their every move. Naruto even began walking with a spring in his step, waving to the crowd and high fiving the nearest people. Sasuke pulled Naruto closer to him after a while, wrapping his arm possessively around his waist. The girls looked disappointed, but soon resorted back to their screaming and cheering.

"Isn't it weird how they drove us all the way here just to walk right back to the castle on this red carpet?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

"Che. It's for the media." Sasuke kept his eyes ahead to where the castle was beginning to get nearer and nearer.

They continued walking in the same fashion, their eyes adjusting to the many flashes of light from cameras and the rapidfire speech of news reporters, their cameramen trained on Naruto and Sasuke.

"My feet hurt," Naruto complained.

Sasuke wasted no time in picking Naruto up, bridal-style. Everyone looked delighted and the noise level shot up.

"TEME!" Naruto shouted, his arms wrapped reflexively around Sasuke's neck. "Put me _down!_"he hissed, but the threat in his voice was rendered useless by the red on his cheeks and the way he tried to hide his face in Sasuke's chest.

"You whined, and now I'm reaping the benefits," Sasuke whispered back.

He put Naruto down when they got to the top of the front steps, and the crowd was left behind as they entered and shut the doors behind them. It felt oppressively silent after all the noise.

Kiba appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Naruto by the elbow, while Itachi took ahold of Sasuke.

"Come on," Kiba winked, whisking Naruto away from Sasuke. "It's time to walk down the aisle."

"We couldn't have just walked down together?" Naruto protested, trying to pull his arm from Kiba's grip.

"Nah," Kiba dug his fingers into Naruto's arm, "where's the fun in that?"

"It's not going to look very good if you break the groom's arm!"

Kiba only smirked. "Now who said you were the groom?"

Before Naruto could comprehend the meaning behind those words, he found himself stumbling along the aisle in the ballroom. There were rows and rows of chairs and pews on either side of him, filled with men and women of higher rank, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Sasuke strutting down another carpeted aisleway.

Naruto looked forward again, noticing that the aisle was slanted toward the middle of the room, where the minister waited for them on a podium. The entire setup was made so that he and Sasuke would cross paths in the middle of the V shaped aisles, where they would then walk together to stand before the pastor. As he processed this, the same magical melody from Sakura's wedding began ringing out from a small ensemble of instrument players at the back of the room. Unconsciously, he fell into step with the rhythm of the music, his eyes darting from left to right, searching out the faces he yearned to see.

And there they were, sitting near the front , their heads turned to watch Naruto. Sakura, with her green eyes teary and a sort of Uzumaki-Uchiha hybrid crest painted on her cheek; Shizune, whose smile was trembling in an attempt to keep the flood back; Tsunade, whose eyebrows were furrowed together and yet her lips curled upward in the sort of expression only she could make; and Mebuki and Kizashi, who wore the brightest grins Naruto had ever seen grace their faces.

Naruto wiggled his fingers, smiling, as he passed them, and then he met Sasuke. They stared at each other for a split second before Sasuke gave an almost imperceptible nod, and then Naruto wove his arm into Sasuke's and they proceeded down to the pastor. Naruto drank in everything as they walked, slowing down his steps. There were white railings and a white arch covered in painted designs and carvings, blue and orange gossamer streamers wrapped and woven into the gaps in the metal. There was a small pedestal before the place they would stand that carried a maroon cushion, two rings placed on it.

Naruto took a deep breath and hoped that his palms weren't too sweaty as they turned and halted. The pastor cleared his throat.

"We are gathered here today, friends and family…"

Just like last time, Sasuke didn't bother to listen to the rambling and petty talk, complacent with just staring into Naruto's eyes. In the middle of his staring, though, he faintly registered the fact that the pastor had stopped talking and was waiting, and Naruto's hand was outstretched. Sasuke quickly tore his eyes away and grabbed one of the rings, slipping it onto the waiting finger. Naruto did the same with the other ring, sliding it onto Sasuke's hand, grinning again.

"Do you take this man, Uchiha Sasuke, to be your lawfully wedded husband as long as you both shall live?" Naruto noticed that he cut the vows short, but he wasn't complaining.

"I do!" Naruto exclaimed, receiving a few chuckles for the energetic response.

"And do you take this man, Uzumaki Naruto, to be your lawfully wedded husband as both as you both shall live?"

Sasuke rested his eyes on the goofy grin and the sparkle in Naruto's eyes as he replied without a shred of doubt in his heart, "I do."

"Then I now pronounce you man," the pastor gestured to Sasuke, "and wife." He pointed to Naruto in turn.

Sasuke had to stifle his laugh as Naruto looked on, not realizing what he had said.

"You may now kiss the bride!"

Sasuke leaned forward, and Naruto's eyes began slipping shut before they shot open abruptly. "EEEEEH?!" he shouted, his face red. "BRIDE?!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and covered Naruto's mouth with his own, silencing the blonde.

There was an uproar as everyone rose to their feet, clapping and restarting the festivities with a new sort of determination. Sakura was the first to rise, wiping her tears away and screaming her lungs out.

And as all fairytales end, they'd gotten a happy ending after all.

* * *

**A/N: **Wari, sorry for the late update! ^.^ I just really needed a break, schoolwork's been piling up again. But while I was gone I was able to think a lot more about this story, and I've come to a conclusion that may or may not sit well with you guys. It was a fun time writing this story, but I feel like it's one of my worse ones, and I'm simply not satisfied with it. I'm going to put up this epilogue to tie up a few loose ends, but although this was undoubtedly the most popular of all my stories, I think that I'm going to take this story down after most of you guys have read it. It's been a joy reading your reviews and writing for you guys, see you in my next tale! C: -Sarge


End file.
